Thermae Thermae In ancient Rome, thermae (from Greek θερμός "thermos", "hot") and balneae (from Greek βαλανεῖον "balaneion") were facilities for bathing. "Thermae" usually refers to the large imperial bath complexes, while "balneae" were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed in great numbers throughout Rome. Most Roman cities had at least one, if not many, such buildings, which were centres not only for bathing, but socializing, and reading as well. Roman bath-houses were also provided for private villas, town houses, and forts. They were supplied with water from an adjacent river or stream, or more normally, by an aqueduct. The water
Opera publica Opera publica Opera publica is the Latin name used by Ancient Rome for the building of public works, construction or engineering projects carried out under the direction of the state on behalf of the community, and the buildings themselves. The term "public works" is a calque (literal word-by-word translation) of the Latin. Public works in the Roman Empire were not merely buildings for the conduct of the business of running the city, but all buildings for public use. Therefore, temples, basilicae, theatres, porticoes, fora, walls of towns, aqueducts, harbours, bridges, baths (both thermae and balneae), fountains, circuses, markets, cloacae, roads,