It’s now known that Catullo, (a Roman poet of renown) died before these baths were ever built. The confusion came from scholars who knew of this ancient Roman poet, whose family originally came from the area, lived here at some stage of his life – for a very short time. They knew his family owned a villa in the town,but they can’t be specific as to its location.
Untruths!
The result is confusion: He died in 54BC and the baths were built about 150AD, nor are they a grotto. They were called that by the people of the area as the building fell into disrepair and became ruins they resembled a grotto. And finally, to add insult to injury, archaeologists can’t make up their mind as to whether the place was actually a bathhouse or a plain old villa. They have reconstructed it on paper and drawn up plans but they are all supposition and guesswork.
The plans of the Grotto
The ‘Grotto’ is perched at the very tip of the Sirmione peninsula with magnificent views of the lake. Although what we see today are ruins, archaeologist say the baths would have looked magnificent when they were first built – if indeed it was a bathhouse.
The rectangular shaped building would have been three levels tall with a courtyard in the middle. The outside would have been formed by arcades and columns and would have appeared very grand as was the style of the day. Above the columns on the first and second floors there would have been several rooms which could have been used for entertaining and these rooms would have had better views than standing on the same spot today as they would have been higher.
As the promontory sticks out into the lake, these would have afforded anyone looking, a view of nearby towns and possibly even further up the lake to places like Gardone Riviera, and on the other side to Torri del Benaco.
The baths would have had magnificent thermal springs, which were believed even back then, to help many medical problems. At the lake end of the building, a magnificent terrace for entertaining, would have shown just how wealthy the owner was.
The mystery and the realisation
Who owned it and what was it meant for, we will never know. But we can enjoy the wonderful views of the lake from many areas within this large complex of ruins. There are areas adjacent to the ruins that are perfect for a picnic and there is a small museum. The ideal time to go is in spring when the colours of the sky match those of the lake and before the arrival of most of the tourists coming from all over the world to visit Sirmione.
Glynis Macri - Glynis Macri has been visiting Italy for the past 20 years absorbing all that the country has to offer in the way of food and wine ...
Join the Conversation