Piscina Publica

[1] The piscina was situated in the low-lying area between the Via Appia, the Servian Wall, and the northeast slope of the Aventine Hill, an area later occupied by the Baths of Caracalla.

[2] There is some disagreement as to whether the reservoir was fed by one of several springs in the immediate area[3] or by the Aqua Appia, the first public aqueduct built by Appius Claudius Caecus.

[4] Located just inside the Porta Capena,[5] it was the first site for both communal water distribution and sports.

[6] The aqueduct supplied water for wool processors near the piscina.

[7] Mention of a piscina publica was first made in 215 BC,[8] when the two city praetors moved their tribunals to the site, near where the Senate was meeting with generals to discuss the ongoing Hannibalic War.