The Sarno Baths in Pompeii: Context and state of the art

•A critical study of the state of the art of the Sarno Baths (Pompeii) is proposed.•All published and archival documentation has been analysed.•The treatment by scholars of the major themes concerning the building is discussed.•Mau wrote about a structural failure and a partial rebuilding of the complex.•This study has been useful to calibrate the research of all the teams involved.