ACHILLIANE BATHS.

In the churchyard, from a staircase located to the left of the facade of the Cathedral it is possible to descend into what remains of a very large thermal complex built between the III and the 5th century. The name Achilliane delle terme was derived from fragments of epigraphs recomposed and now preserved in the civic museum of Castello Ursino. It is not possible to speculate precisely how large these baths were. But several fragments found in occasional excavations suggest that the entire area of the Cathedral grounds up to the University square to the north was part of the spa complex & nbsp; and that it reached Piazza S. Placid. What you can visit today is a room covered by a cross vault supported by four pillars which is accessed via a barrel-vaulted corridor. A series of tanks fed by the Amenano groundwater, which were part of the channeling, drainage and filtering system of the baths, can be seen at the end of the route that is practicable today. The ancient stucco decorations with vine shoots and cherubs can still be deciphered on the walls and ceiling. These decorations have suggested a dedication to the god Bacchus of the baths.

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