Located at the end of the Falcomatà waterfront and discovered during the reconstruction works following the 1908 earthquake, the Roman Baths are one of the most famous city monuments of Reggio Calabria.
Given its size, its baths were probably part of a private building. The remains reveal more building phases, and, for a long time, they were covered by a Spanish wall tower, the Bastione di San Matteo, which guaranteed its partial conversation. Left of its original layout today is an elliptical bath for hot baths preceded by a series of heated rooms (tepidarium and calidarium), a square bath used for cold baths, and a small, semi-circular dressing room paved in black and white mosaic.
The mosaic, dated 2nd-3rd century AC, is of geometric style, with white limestone and black lava stone tiles that are of Sicilian or Aeolian origin. A small section of the frame also has grey (restoration) tiles. The actual two-colour decoration is limited to the central part of the floor and is framed by a black rectangular frame, which is in turn surrounded by a large white border. The central decorative motif consists of a composition of rows of large elongated hexagons, joined together by the base, which gives rise to intersecting rows of small rhombuses traced in a black on white background.
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