Alberti, Leone Battista, Architecture, 1755

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          <chap>
            <pb xlink:href="003/01/258.jpg" pagenum="184"/>
            <p type="head">
              <s>CHAP. X.</s>
            </p>
            <p type="head">
              <s>
                <emph type="italics"/>
              Of Thermes or publick Baths; their Conveniencies and Ornaments.
                <emph.end type="italics"/>
                <lb/>
                <arrow.to.target n="marg47"/>
              </s>
            </p>
            <p type="margin">
              <s>
                <margin.target id="marg47"/>
              *</s>
            </p>
            <p type="main">
              <s>Some have condemned Baths, imagining
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              they made Men effeminate, while others
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              have had ſo great an Opinion of them, that
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              they have waſhed in them ſeven Times a Day.
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              </s>
              <s>The ancient Phyſicians, in order for the Cure
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              of various Diſtempers by means of Bathing,
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              erected a great Number of Thermes or publick
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              Baths in the City of
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              Rome
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              at an incredible Ex­
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              pence.
                <emph type="italics"/>
              Heliogabalus
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              particularly built
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              Thermæ
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              in a great many Places, but having waſhed
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              once in each, he immediately ordered it to be
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              demoliſhed, ſcorning ever to waſh twice in the
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              ſame Bath. </s>
              <s>I am not thoroughly determined
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              whether this Kind of Structure be of a publick
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              or private Nature: And indeed I cannot help
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              thinking that it partakes ſomewhat of both,
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              ſince in many Particulars, it borrows from the
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              Deſigns of private Edifices, and in many others
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              from thoſe of publick ones. </s>
              <s>A publick Bath
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              or Thermæ requiring a very large Area of
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              Ground to ſtand upon, it is not proper to build
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              it in the principal and moſt frequented Part of
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              the City, neither ſhould it be placed too far
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              out of the Way, becauſe both the chief Citi­
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              zens and the Women muſt reſort thither to
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              waſh themſelves. </s>
              <s>The Thermæ itſelf muſt have
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              a large open Space clear round it, which muſt
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              be encompaſſed with a high Wall, with proper
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              Entrances at convenient Places. </s>
              <s>In the Mid­
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              dle of the Therme muſt be a large ſtately Hall,
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              which muſt be as it were the Center of the
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              whole Edifice, with Cells all round it after the
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              Manner of the
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              Etrurian
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              Temple, which we
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              have already deſcribed. </s>
              <s>Into this Hall we are
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              to enter through a handſome Veſtibule, front­
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              ing to the South, from which we paſs into an­
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              other ſmaller Veſtibule or Lobby, and ſo into
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              the great Hall. </s>
              <s>From the Hall is a large Gate
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              fronting to the North, which opens into a large
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              open Square, on the Right and Left of which
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              are ſpacious Porticoes, and immediately behind
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              thoſe Porticoes are the cold Baths. </s>
              <s>Let us once
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              more go back into the great Hall. </s>
              <s>On the
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              right Side of this Hall, which lies to the Eaſt,
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              is a broad ſpacious Lobby, with three Cells on
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              each Side of it, lying oppoſite to each other.
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              </s>
              <s>This Lobby carries us into another open Square,
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              which I call the Xyſtus, which is encompaſſed
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              with Porticoes on every Side. </s>
              <s>Of theſe Porti­
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              coes, that which fronts you as you come into
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              the Square, has a handſome Withdrawing­
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              room behind it. </s>
              <s>The Portico whoſe Front lies
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              to the South has cold Baths behind it, in the
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              ſame Manner as in the other Square, with con­
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              venient Dreſſing-rooms adjoining to them:
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              And in the oppoſite Portico are the warm
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              Baths, which receive the ſouth Sun by Win­
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              dows broke out behind the Portico. </s>
              <s>In con­
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              venient Angles in the Porticoes of the Xyſtus
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              are the other ſmaller Veſtibules, for Paſſages
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              out into the open Space which encompaſſes the
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              whole Thermæ. </s>
              <s>Theſe are the ſeveral Mem­
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              bers of the Thermæ which lie on the right Side
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              of the great Hall, and there muſt be juſt the
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              ſame on the left which lies to the Weſt, an­
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              ſwering to the former: The Lobby with three
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              Cells on each Side, the open Square or Xyſtus
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              with its Porticoes and Withdrawing-rooms, and
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              the ſmaller Veſtibules in the Angles of the
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              Xyſtus. </s>
              <s>Let us return once more to that prin­
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              cipal Veſtibule of the whole Structure, which
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              I ſaid fronted the South; on the right Hand of
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              which, upon the Line which runs to the Eaſt
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              are three Rooms, and as many on that which
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              runs to the Weſt; the one for the Women,
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              and the other for the Men. </s>
              <s>In the firſt Room
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              they undreſſed; in the ſecond they anointed
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              themſelves, and in the third they waſhed: And
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              ſome for the greater Magnificence, added a
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              fourth, for the Friends and Servants of thoſe
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              that were bathing to wait for them in. </s>
              <s>Theſe
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              Bathing-rooms received the Noon-day Sun at
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              very large Windows. </s>
              <s>Between theſe Rooms
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              and thoſe Cells which I told you lay along the
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              Side of the inner Lobbies, which lead out of
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              the great Hall into the open Square on the Side
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              or Xyſtus, another open Area was left, which
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              threw Light into the ſouth Side of thoſe inner
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              Cells that lie along thoſe Lobbies from the great
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              Hall. </s>
              <s>The whole Edifice of the Thermæ, as
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              I before obſerved, was encompaſſed clear round
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              with a broad open Space, which was even ſpa­
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              cious enough for Races, nor were Goals want­
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              ing in proper Places of it for that Purpoſe. </s>
              <s>In
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              the open Space on the ſouth Side in which is
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              the principal Veſtibule of the whole Edifice,
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              </s>
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