In Roman times Olbia was equipped with two thermal baths: one located in the ancient heart of the city, between Terme Street, Corso Umberto 1 and Santa Croce Street; the other near the northern side of the ancient city walls, discovered during an excavation carried out in Nanni Street (in front of the “Ettore Pais” middle school).
For the first facility, which can be dated between the 2nd and early 3rd centuries CE, archaeological investigations confirm the presence of a series of swimming pools of different shapes and sizes, interconnected by channels for water supply, floors with black-and-white mosaics and earthenware, and the heated rooms of the calidarium and tepidarium. The water supply was provided by the aqueduct, while heating was provided not only by hypocaust but also by fictile pipes inserted in the wall cavities.