UN APPROCCIO MULTIDISCIPLINARE PER LO STUDIO DELL’USO E DEL RIUSO DEGLI ANTICHI EDIFICI TERMALI A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO STUDYING THE USE AND REUSE OF ANCIENT THERMAL BUILDINGS

Ancient monuments are often stratified palimpsests, the result of transformations, adaptations to anthropic and natural changes, and offer an interesting lesson in the reuse of materials, architectural spaces, and buildings over time, not always easy to interpret. This study investigates Roman thermal buildings in Catania (Sicily) and specifically the Indirizzo baths, one of the best-preserved in the Roman Empire. A multidisciplinary approach is presented in order to fill the knowledge gap about this monument and its transformations and reuse over time. Historical research, in situ analysis, 3D architectural surveys, multi-semantic models, thermoLuminescence (TL) and Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating have provided an in-depth investigation of the three-dimensional spatiality, the functional layout, the construction techniques, the operation and the spatial and functional transformations. The results constitute a fundamental premise for the interpretation of the monument’s history and for future restoration and promotion activities.