 To the northeasr of
rhe "forum", in Via della Rotonda, a circular
huilding covered with a dome supported by eight arches
constitutes the only remainillg part of an interesting
thermal complex. In the sixth century the structure was
transformed into a Christian church, raising the floor
level by some two metres. Of the niches for the bathing
pools, one was used for the apse, the other two for
lateral chapels. Despite this transformarion, the
building was correctly identified by the Prince of
Biscari. Excavations nnd restorations carried out in the
early 1950s by Guido Libertini brought to light two
phases in the use of the complex: the earliest late
Hellenistic, the most recent in the imperial age
(second-third century AD). Another thermal complex stands
in Piazza Currò, south of the cathedral and partially
incorporated into the Carmelite convent of Santa Maria
dell'Indirizzo [Saint Mary of the Address], from ,which
the building draws its present-day name, Terme
dell'Indirizzo. Some ten rooms with their original cover
are still visible and in particular the hydraulic system
is identifiable: the furnaces for heating the rooms, the
hot air channels, the downflow canals for the water. The
centre of the complex is occupied by a octagonal hall
with a domed cover and wide niches in the walls. The
building's date lies somewhere between the fourth and
fifth centuries AD. Restoration carried out in a third
thermal complex and recorded in a Greek inscription dates
to AD 434.  In this inscription
the complex is referred to as the Terme Achilliane and it
consists of several structures partially covered by the
cathedral. Reached through a trap-door in front of the
church, it is dominated by a wide rectangular hall with
four pillars in the centre which support the vaults. The
ceiling was decorated in stucco with representations of
putti and vines. Many other rooms surround the
pillared hall, suggesting that the complex was of
considerable size. It was perhaps built by the governor
of Sicily, Lusius Laberius at the beginning of the third
century AD, as indicated by an inscription (now lost)
which stood out on the façade of the cathedral prior to
the earthquake of 1693. |
