Ceremonial Buildings at Thermo-Mineral Springs: The Example of Via Scavi at Montegrotto Terme

This article proposes a new interpretation of the lesser-known structure known as the ‘Polylobate building’ in the thermal area of Viale Stazione-Via degli Scavi in Montegrotto Terme, near Padua. Although this building was interpreted as a residential building in the past, no conclusive data has ever been presented to support this hypothesis. In essence, the available information was very limited and most of the articles in which it was cited never attempted to understand the typology and structure of this monument. Thanks to an in-depth analysis of data from excavations carried out in 1970, and a comparative study with other similar buildings attested both in Italy and in other thermo-mineral healing structures, this paper will offer new documentation useful for understanding the relationship with the buildings in the archaeological area of Montegrotto Terme and with analogous structures normally interpreted as nymphaea. Consequently, this research offers new insights to attempt interpret the so-called polylobate building as a nymphaeum with a sacred-ceremonial function to be found within the thermo-mineral area of Aquae Patavinae, but also in other healing contexts attested throughout the Roman Empire, from Italy to the eastern and western provinces.