Pl.: palaestrae

An open courtyard attached to the bathhouse, often accessible from the frigidarium. The surface of the palaestra was usually made of beaten earth; it was sometimes paved, and occasionally laid out as a garden, as in the Imperial thermae of Rome. It was often rectangular in shape and was surrounded by a portico on one or several sides, behind which exedrae sometimes opened. The palaestra was used as an exercise yard and could therefore be equipped with running tracks and sports equipment. The natatio could also be located in or off the palaestra.

One of the palaestrae included in the bathing block of the Large East Baths of Mactar, Tunisia (photos Konogan Beaufay).