Places To Explore

ANCIENT BATHHOUSES Find out where civilisations past cleaned off the dirt after a long, hard day

Ancient bathhouses

GREEK BATHS OF GELA CALTANISSETTA, ITALY

While it may seem odd to some to visit Ancient Greek baths in Sicily, the Greeks lived on the island for quite a while, and they certainly left their mark. The Greek baths at Gela – allegedly the second-oldest town in Sicily after Syracuse – are one of the oldest baths in all of Italy, dating back to the 4th century BCE. At the baths, you’ll find 36 tanks and underground drainage systems, all rediscovered in 1957.

They’re the only extant Greek baths in Sicily, and are located just 500 metres from the city walls on Via Europea – perfectly located for visitors to the town. The site itself is comparable with ones that can be found in Delphi, Olympia and further afield, but was destroyed in 282 BCE after ancient Gela was looted by Campanian mercenaries. As far as archaeologists can tell, it wasn’t reused at all until being rediscovered in the 20th century.

9am-2pm, 3-8pm

A wall originally would have separated the two rooms of the baths