The Roman Baths of Como, Roman bath complex in Como, Italy

The Roman Baths of Como lie between Viale Lecco and Via Dante, under a multi-storey car park built on columns for the Valduce hospital. Excavations from 1971 to 2008 uncovered 21 rooms across 2,800 square metres, including octagonal halls 25, 22 and 20 metres wide with walls 120 cm thick. Visitors walk on raised walkways above the remains.

The baths were built in the second half of the 1st century AD with funding from Pliny the Younger, a Como-born senator who gave his hometown the complex; construction and upkeep cost 500,000 sesterces. In the 2nd century three new halls were added and some rooms changed function. Abandoned at the end of the 3rd century, the site was stripped of materials and part of it became a necropolis for three centuries.

The baths served as daily gathering places where people came together for relaxation and conversation. They show how important physical wellness and social life were to Roman communities.

Visitors can walk through the surviving foundations and interior spaces, though some areas are more accessible than others depending on the current state of preservation. Comfortable shoes are recommended since surfaces can be uneven and the site is part of a larger archaeological area.

The site was found in 1971 during construction work, and excavations between 2006 and 2008 uncovered 21 rooms across 2,800 square metres. Two display cases hold finds such as fresco fragments with geometric and plant motifs, marble pieces and tiles. The complex may have covered 4,000 to 8,000 square metres, more than the baths of Pompeii.