Terme della Rotonda (Catania)

In the Byzantine era, the church of Santa Maria della Rotonda with its characteristic dome was built upon the remains of the Roman baths.

According to recent studies carried out in 2004–2008 and again in 2015, the Terme della Rotonda would date back to the 1st–2nd century CE.

[1] Alongside the Bonajuto Chapel, La Rotonda represents the only surviving Byzantine building in Catania.

Ignazio Paternò Castello, an eighteenth-century Sicilian aristocrat and archaeologist, interpreted the baths as part of a more extensive spa complex extending as far West as Piazza Dante.

As part of these "conservation" activities directed by Guido Libertini, many of the frescos that covered the walls of Santa Maria della Rotonda were removed.

As part of these excavations, archaeologists brought to light an imposing Castellum aquae connected to a branch of the Roman aqueduct of Catania as well as a quadrangular courtyard surrounded by exedras, which is best interpreted as the original entrance to the thermae.

The remains of the Castellum aquae, a tank or reservoir connected to the aqueduct, and a courtyard surrounded by exedras that served as the main entrance to the baths, can still be seen next to the church.

The "restorations" carried out by Guido Libertini in the 1950s led to the destruction of most of the frescoes that once covered the interior walls of the Church of Santa Maria della Rotonda.

[7] The baroque frescoes at the base of the dome represent St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Agatha, and St. Lucy alongside the Evangelists Luke, Matthew, Mark, and John.