Here’s a “place to know” for all of you luxury livers in Tribeca. AIRE Ancient Baths New York is taking an ancient Romanesque look at public baths and spa.
According to the website:
Aire Ancient Baths is a retreat that brings to life the history of our ancestors who turned the public baths into a feast for the senses.
At the end of the 5th century B.C., the upper classes of Ancient Rome attended the magnificent bath houses to enjoy the pleasures of the public bath (thermae). They were true palaces.
The bathing ritual began in the “Tepidarium”, the warm-water pool, then went on to the “Caldarium”, the hot-water pool or the high-temperature steam room “Lanconicum”, and lastly to the “Frigidarium”, the cold-water pool. This ritual was repeated three or four times.
Immediately afterwards, the “tractatores” or masseurs stretched the muscles of the guests who then went to the “unctores” who anointed them with fragrant oils.
The Ottomans and the Arabs also considered the baths as a place to meet, rest and socialize.