Booking is now mandatory to visit the Baths of Caracalla.

Rome's Baths of Caracalla reopen to the public on 13 June following a closure of more than three months due to the covid-19 pandemic.

The archaeological site will be open four days a week - Thursday to Sunday - with a circular one-way route, between the gardens and the bath complex, with differentiated exit and entry points.

• Rome: McDonald's loses appeal to open near Baths of Caracalla

Online booking is mandatory, with visitors obliged to wear masks and have their temperature taken by a thermo-scanner on arrival. Access is not permitted to those with a body temperature of more than 37.5 degrees.

There will be staggered entry, with a maximum of 40 people per hour (10 people every 15 minutes) to ensure social distance, with hand sanitiser stands placed throughout the site.

• Rome opera house cancels summer season at Baths of Caracalla

This year visitors will be able to enjoy the Baths of Caracalla throughout the summer, with the cancellation of the summer programme of Rome's opera house, called off due to the coronavirus.

The site can be visited Thursday to Sunday 09.00-19.15 (last entry 18.30) by booking in advance via the Coopculture website. For queries contact info@coopculture.it. 

History of Baths of Caracalla

This sprawling complex of Roman public baths, or thermae, was likely built between 212 and 216 AD, during the reigns of emperors Septimius Severus and Caracalla.

The baths were in operation until the sixth century before falling into disuse and suffering major damage in the earthquake of 847.

The site contains a maze of underground areas including a gymnasium, changing rooms, frigidarium, tepidarium and caldarium whose remains can be visited today.