The main Tuscan thermal and spa resorts
Tuscany, the best region of Italy, a land of great cultural history, wine hills, warm sea and high mountains also boasts the fame of the most “thermal” area in the Apennine Peninsula. The largest number of Italian thermal and spa resorts is concentrated exactly in Tuscany, there are 39 of them in the region. The most well-known of them are Montecatini Terme, Bagni di Pisa, the Baths of Val d’Orcia, Saturnia and many others. We will tell you about the most famous thermal spas in Tuscany.
Montecatini Terme and Grotto Giusti in Monsummano
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Montecatini Terme – the basic baths in Italy
The most important spot for rest and spa treatment in Tuscany and Italy in general remains the balneological resort of Montecatini Terme located halfway between Florence and the cities of Lucca and Pisa. The waters of the resort are considered one of the most effective in Europe according to the reviews of its guests: “after ten days in Montecatini, wings grow behind us”. Local baths were famous even through the Antiquity and the Middle Ages but the current “thermae” were built during the 18th–20th centuries. Nowadays, Montecatini Terme is not an ordinary “hospital-type” sanatorium but a real fashionable thermal city. Guests of the resort undergo treatment right in the thermal baths but at the same time they live a “normal” life surrounding by chic architecture going for walks, excursions, shopping and restaurants. People come here for unique thermal water, for therapeutic mud and swimming in a thermal pool, for recovery of the nervous system, for excellent wine and cuisine, for new cultural and tourist experiences. Moreover, Montecatini Terme gives you a very convenient feature: you do not need to intake thermal waters all day long. The main treatment is in the morning with a “light” water for kidneys in the evening before your dinner.
Thermal “Grotto Giusti” in Monsummano
In a 10-minutes’ drive from the main Tuscan water resort of Montecatini Terme, in a quiet private Park near the town of Monsummano Terme there is a famous thermal hotel Grotta Giusti Tuscany 4* resort & Spa. It includes a country Palace of the 19th century and a Wellness center with its main gem – the huge thermal cave “Grotta Giusti”. This natural thermal cave consists of three halls named after Dante’s Divine Comedy. Mineral waters and their vapors during a standard 50-minute cave treatment help to detoxify the body, heal the lungs and bronchi, and relieve stress. The spa also has a 750 m2 outdoor pool with a waterfall and hydromassage – booking.com
Baths of Pisa – San Giuliano Terme and Casciana Terme
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San Giuliano Terme – Bagni di Pisa
The thermal town of San Giuliano Terme is situated between Pisa and Lucca, 10 minutes from each of the cities by train or by car. Mineral water springs – “Acquae Pisane” – were discovered by the ancient Romans near Pisa, at the foot of Monte Pisano. In the 1st century AD, an aqueduct was built to supply the city baths of Pisa with the waters and its remains have survived to the presence. As soon as the Grand Duchy of Tuscany was established in the 16th century, the baths in San Giuliano Terme became one of the favorite resting places of the Medici Dukes. Real fame came to San Giuliano Terme in the 18th century when the Grand Duke of Tuscany and the future Holy Roman Emperor Francis Stephen I and his wife Maria Teresa of Austria invested heavily in the reconstruction of the city and its resorts turning San Giuliano into an “oasis of idleness and bliss” where aristocrats from all over Europe enjoyed their holidays. The “Grand Ducal“ Baths of San Giuliano are currently part of the luxurious 5-star hotel and thermal complex Bagni di Pisa – The Leading Hotels of the World 5* located in the central building of the Palace of Francis Stephen I. The hotel features a large Spa area with natural hot springs, a swimming pool, a steam bath and a sauna. The Baths of San Giuliano remains one of the most prestigious water resorts throughout Italy and the local hot waters help to treat and prevent many diseases – booking.com
Casciana Terme
Pisa’s second most famous water resort is the thermal town of Casciana Terme set in a breathtaking panorama of green hills and vineyards south of the “superstrada” Pisa-Florence on the way to the wine town of Terricola, Andrea Bocelli’s homeland Lajatico, and the ancient Etruscan capital of Volterra. The local “thermae” owe their origin to the famous Matilda of Canossa who built her own bath there at the beginning of the 12th century. In the 19th century, after the construction of the new grandiose thermal complex by the architect Poggi Casciana Terme became one of the main “jewel in the crown” all over Italy. A century later – in the 1960s, the resort was rebuilt again, its capacity increased to 1000 people, and in 2000 it was supplemented with a new spa center with aesthetic treatment rooms, massage, sauna and Turkish bath. Unlike Bagni di Pisa in San Giuliano, the Casciana Terme thermal complex does not belong to one hotel – it is a whole thermal town consisting of a dozen hotels of different price levels, restaurants, bars, shops, as well as a hospital and a rehabilitation center. The healing waters of Casciana Terme help with varicose veins, rheumatism, arthritis, gout, high cholesterol level, chronic ENT diseases and gynecological disorders.
Baths of Versilia – Villa Undulna
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The spa hotel Villa Undulna – Terme della Versilia 4* is located on the seafront of the Versilian town of Cinquale, on the border with Forte dei Marmi. The hotel’s spa and wellness center is set around a unique spring with bromine-iodine-containing mineral water, at a temperature of only 17 ° C, passed through the salt deposits of the dried sea. The iodine content in it is ten times higher than in seawater, so it has a special therapeutic effect: it relieves muscle tension and inflammation, fights cellulite and literally tones the entire body. In Terme di Versilia, in addition to pools with mineral water, there are also pools filled with sea water. The spa center is equipped with a sauna, the Turkish bath with chromotherapy effect, and a sensory shower – booking.com
Bagni di Lucca
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The thermal town of Bagni di Lucca is located in the foothills of the Apuan Alps at the confluence of the Lima and Cerchio rivers, close to a road fork leading from the magnificent medieval city of Lucca to the towns of the Garfagnana Valley and the main Tuscan ski resort of Abetone. The first historical mention of the resort dates to 56 BC when the triumvirs Pompey, Caesar and Crassus, having agreed on the “division of the world” in Lucca, went to rest in the Lucca “baths”. The healing properties of the local waters were well known throughout Antiquity and the Middle Ages but the resort reached its true heyday in the 18th-19th centuries. At that time, the Baths of Lucca in “Tuscan Switzerland” became the most fashionable aristocratic resort and gambling house. During that period, several thermal complexes, casinos and gambling houses, an academic theater and even an Anglican church with the churchyard were built there. The resort fell into relative decline at the turn of the 20th century when summer seaside vacations became fashionable among the European elite. Only the Baths of Jean Varraud are currently in operation of all the baths in Bagni di Lucca. They are famous for their steam caves and the fact that people played roulette there for the first time in history.
The Jean Varraud bath, for its turn, is a part of the three-star thermal Hotel & Terme Bagni di Lucca 3*. The bath is supplied by a powerful spring with sulphate-carbonate-calcium waters, at a temperature of 54°C, which has an intense therapeutic effect against cardiovascular disorders, respiratory system, gynecological, dermatological and rheumatic diseases – booking.com
Baths of Val d’Orcia: Bagno Vignoni, Bagni San Filippo, Chianciano Terme
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Famous for its landscapes and great wines, the Val d’Orcia (Valley of the Orcia River) has another natural treasure. Thanks to their proximity to the dormant volcano Amiata, on the hills along the shores of Orcia, there are many geothermal springs, having been often turned into baths since antiquity.
Bagno Vignoni
The most famous baths in the natural park of Val d’Orcia are the “thermae” of the medieval town of Bagno Vignoni. The baths have existed there since the time of the Etruscans and Romans, and they were important in the Middle Ages, when the main trade and pilgrimage route Via Francigena passed through Bagno Vignoni. A distinctive feature of Bagno Vignoni is that a huge thermal pool built back in the 15th century is situated in the main city square. It is being filled with the spring waters gushing from an aquifer at the site of a volcanic rift. Unfortunately, the thermal pool in Bagno Vignoni has not been used for bathing for the last twenty years but you can do it in the Parco dei Mulini where a picturesque system of canals and small waterfalls leads to the Orcia River and sulphur waters at the foot of the hill are gathered in a large thermal pool, open for bathing.
The place for luxurious stays in Bagno Vignoni is the five-star spa hotel Adler Spa Resort Thermae 5 *, located on the bank of the Orcia River. It offers large indoor and outdoor pools, a gym with panoramic views of the Tuscan hills. The hotel’s spa facilities include a sauna, a herbal caldarium and a Turkish bath. The restaurant serves the best Tuscan food and wines – booking.com
The three-star historic hotel Albergo Le Terme 3 * is located in the heart of Bagno Vignoni next to the ancient thermal pool. The hotel’s garden features a wellness center with a hot tub, Roman sauna, therapeutic pools and a thermal pool – booking.com
Baths of Bagni San Filippo
The baths of Bagni San Filippo have a completely different look. It is a natural complex formed of streams, waterfalls and small warm water ponds, lost in the middle of a lush green forest. Follow a forest path, you can reach the main local attraction – the White Whale Cascade (cascata della Balena Bianca), a huge block of limestone formed by deposits of hyperthermal waters whose snow-white color contrasts with the dark forest greenery. Hot medicinal waters flow down from the White Whale and collect in natural pools and cavities. Their mud has a strong therapeutic effect for the face and body skin treatment.
The Chianciano Terme Baths located in the southeast of the province of Siena in the town of the same name, Chianciano Terme have a reputation for being family-run. The Chianciano resorts are surrounded by parks where a variety of entertainment and cultural programs are offered for adults and children. The waters and muds of Fucoli and Acqua Santa resorts effectively fight arthritis and rheumatic diseases. There are a lot of accommodation options in the city to combine hydrotherapy with relaxation and a comfortable stay close to the natural and cultural treasures of the Val d’Orcia.
Baths of Saturnia
The Terme di Saturnia is a whole thermal valley a few kilometers away from the village of Saturnia, located in the Maremma to the south of Mount Amiata in lower Tuscany near the border with Lazio. According to an ancient legend, the hot springs there were formed by lightning strikes fired by Jupiter at Saturn, the god of agriculture but hitting the ground. There are many sulphur springs that feed the “thermal” rivers Fiora and Albegna where the thermal baths are located. The most famous is the “Mill Cascade” – Cascata del Mulino where several tens of people can take a “thermal bath” simultaneously.
Not far from the “Mill Cascade” there is a luxury hotel-resort Terme di Saturnia SPA & Golf Resort 5 * consisting of a thermal park with a modern spa center, a golf club, a historic luxury hotel in an old garden, a restaurant and a tennis court. A powerful spring with its healing and rejuvenating waters spurts out in the thermal Park. Terme di Saturnia is also a place where a cosmetic line of the same name containing Bioglea, an extract of medicinal plankton found in the thermal waters of Saturnia is produced – booking.com
Baths of the Etruscan Coast – Venturina Terme, Terme di Sassetta
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In the southern part of the province of Livorno not far from the beaches of the Etruscan Riviera, the ancient Populonia town and the wine capital of Suvereto, there are two important thermal resorts.
Venturina Terme – Calidario Terme Etrusche have been known for more than two thousand years. People of the ancient Etruscan city of Populonia used the healing water of “Crater” spring. The first resort appeared here in 1883. Today the Baths of Venturina are a part of the Calidario Terme Etrusche 4* spa hotel complex with a large thermal pool in its own park. The waters rich in mineral salts come from two springs with temperature ranging from 36 ° to 45 ° C. Local waters help with respiratory, gastrointestinal and joint diseases as well as problems with metabolism. The resort also offers mud therapy, sauna, massage, aesthetic treatments – booking.com
The Terme di Sasseta are located in the landscape hotel La Cerreta in its own park, surrounded by the greenery of antient chestnut groves and majestic oak trees near the village of Sasseta. There is a powerful thermal spring rich in mineral salts, whose waters at a constant temperature of 51 ° C feed the bathing pool and three thermal pools with hydromassage at the local spa. The thermal waters here have a significant therapeutic effect on the skin, respiratory and musculoskeletal systems. The hotel rooms are in three buildings of the 18th century. The hotel also has a Tuscan restaurant serving dishes made from local organic products and own wines – booking.com