The Baths of Diocletian

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Baths of Diocletian, Rome
The Baths of Diocletian
The Baths of Diocletian (Terme di Diocleziano) is part of the Museo Nazionale Romano (National Roman Museum). 

The collection of ancient Roman artifacts was founded in 1889 in the halls of the ancient Baths of Diocletian. The collection is also housed in the two 16th century cloisters that were once part of a Carthusian monastery. 
Trompe l'oeil painting (1855) by Filippo Balbi, 'Michelangelo' Cloister, Baths of Diocletian, Rome
Fra Fercoldo (1855) by Filippo Balbi
In a doorway of the Great Cloister, there is an amusing trompe l'oeil painting of a Carthusian monk (1855), the work of Filippo Balbi (1806-90). The monk, whose name is Fra Fercoldo, points to his son, who became Pope Clement IV (r. 1265-68). 
Ancient Roman mosaic of a reclining skeleton pointing to a Greek inscription ('Know thyself'), Baths of Diocletian, Rome
Know Thyself
One of the most famous exhibits is an ancient Roman mosaic of a skeleton reclining on a couch. The skeleton is pointing to two words, which translate as 'Know thyself', an aphorism that was inscribed in the pronaos of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, according to the Greek traveller and geographer Pausanias (c. 110 - c. 180 CE). 
​To be continued...