The Roman Baths of Fordongianus sit along the Tirso River in central-west Sardinia and are a well-preserved example of a provincial Roman thermal complex built to exploit a natural hot spring. Important for both archaeology and local identity, the site illustrates how Romans combined engineering with landscape to create public bathing, healing, and social spaces outside major urban centers.
Constructed mainly in the 2nd–3rd centuries AD, the complex was later reused and partially rebuilt in the medieval period. Visible remains include hypocaust foundations, vaulted service rooms, and fragments of bathing chambers aligned with the spring outlet; the hot, sulfurous water was channelled into pools and caldaria. Adjacent stands a striking multi-arched bridge of mixed Roman and medieval fabric that spans the Tirso — its large stone piers and successive repairs tell the site’s long continuity of use. Uniquely, the baths have been continuously recognized for their thermal waters; portions of the ancient infrastructure are integrated with modern spa facilities and interpretive paths, while exposed ruins along the riverbank allow direct viewing of Roman masonry, vaulted rooms and hydraulic channels that convey the spring’s flow.
Constructed mainly in the 2nd–3rd centuries AD, the complex was later reused and partially rebuilt in the medieval period. Visible remains include hypocaust foundations, vaulted service rooms, and fragments of bathing chambers aligned with the spring outlet; the hot, sulfurous water was channelled into pools and caldaria. Adjacent stands a striking multi-arched bridge of mixed Roman and medieval fabric that spans the Tirso — its large stone piers and successive repairs tell the site’s long continuity of use. Uniquely, the baths have been continuously recognized for their thermal waters; portions of the ancient infrastructure are integrated with modern spa facilities and interpretive paths, while exposed ruins along the riverbank allow direct viewing of Roman masonry, vaulted rooms and hydraulic channels that convey the spring’s flow.
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