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Looking at the great arcaded façade of Piazza della Repubblica gives an idea of the enormity of the Baths of Diocletian, the most imposing in ancient Rome. The semicircular perimeter of the square, designed by Gaetano Koch at the end of the nineteenth century, was conceived precisely to follow the grandiose exedra of the thermal complex.
The construction of the Baths, which cover an area of 13 hectares, was started by Emperor Maximian in 298 AD and was completed quickly: the inauguration of the facility took place between 305 and 306 AD and was dedicated to Diocletian, with whom Maximian shared command of the empire.

The Baths, which could hold up to 3,000 people, followed the usual pattern of the great Roman baths, characterised by the arrangement of the main rooms (calidarium, tepidarium and frigidarium) along a central axis, which can be seen today in the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels. The system remained in operation until the middle of the 6th century when the Greek-Gothic war caused serious damage throughout the city, in particular the interruption of the water supply.

From the second half of the 16th century onwards, the baths underwent profound transformations. In 1561 Pius IV assigned the area of the Baths to the construction of a church and a Carthusian monastery dedicated to Our Lady of Angels and Martyrs and entrusted the project to Michelangelo. The church was built by adapting the frigidarium (cold-water pool) and part of the natatio (open-air pool), while the Charterhouse (the two cloisters and the monks' quarters) occupied the northern part of the thermal complex. Michelangelo was responsible for the design of the main cloister which, with its 100-metre sides marked by 100 monolithic columns, is one of the largest in Italy.

The epigraphic section of the Museum is now presented in a new layout that aims to illustrate the birth and spread of the Latin script, through the display of a rich collection of artefacts identified within the vast heritage of the Museum.
The ground floor of the museum houses the exhibits in chronological order; on the upper floor the epigraphic evidence of the imperial age is presented to the visitor according to major social, administrative and religious themes. Among the most significant documents are the inscriptions recently discovered in the Meta Sudans area in Rome.

On the mezzanine floor of Michelangelo's cloister is a collection illustrating the protohistory of the Latin peoples, i.e. the process of formation of the societies within which Rome first developed. Among the most significant finds are materials from recent excavations, such as those at Osteria dell'Osa and Castiglione, Gabi, Acqua Acetosa Laurentina, Fidene, etc., whose nature and historical-cultural significance are clarified through graphic and computer illustrations, sculptures and paintings.

Inside the National Roman Museum-Terme di Diocleziano there is a space dedicated to the Virtual Museum of the Via Flaminia Antica.
This is a new multi-user virtual reality installation on the landscape of the ancient Via Flaminia. The application makes use of the most modern and suggestive tools for archaeological survey and reconstruction of the historical landscape.

The majestic 11th Hall of the Baths of Diocletian has also been reopened to the public, after restoration, where it is possible to see the grandiose mosaic (80 square metres in size) from the 2nd century AD depicting Hercules victoriously clutching the horn torn from the bleeding head of the river god Achelous.

Since 24 September 2014, on the occasion of the Augustan Bimillenary, the results of the conservation work on the front of the monumental natatio and its remaining structures have been on display. The adjacent Aula VIII is being set up with the grandiose architectural fragments of the baths themselves finally exposed to the public. The restoration of this immense complex also involved the Renaissance structures of the Certosa di Santa Maria degli Angeli, built on top of the ancient ones. In fact, the tour of the small cloister of the Charterhouse was reopened, with the meticulous reconstruction of the Acts of the Arvali and the Ludi Saeculares, ancient cults re-founded as part of Augustus' religious policy.