Aula Ottagona, Rome

The Aula Ottagona, or "Octagonal Hall", is a huge brick hall that was part of the Baths of Diocletian, the largest and most grandiose public baths in Rome, built around 300 AD. The name comes from the building's 8-side structure. It might have been used as a frigidarium , a cool area with a pool for a cold bath. Its use has changed across the centuries: it has been a barn, a gym, and a cinema. In the first half of the 20th century, it had been used as a Planetarium. Nowadays, finally, it is a branch of the National Roman Museum and houses marble and bronze statues that belong to the great Baths of ancient Rome, the ones of Constantine, Diocletian and Caracalla. - Maria Frullini

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