Italic thermae, Etruria

Etruria is probably the Italic region with the highest number of Italian thermal baths, it was spread partially on Umbria, Tuscany, and Northern Latium, covering one of the areas with the highest number of warm thermal spring. Among the various centres, some towns and centres live mainly thanks to the healthy waters, one being Chianciano Terme, close to an ancient burg, a metropolis of wellbeing in the middle of Tuscany hills, that was the natural set for the Fellini Oscar winning movie  8 ½ . For the film buffs, the surreal square of Borgo Vignoni, in the province of Siena, with the springs within the village and a swimming pool instead of the central square is a must see, it was the natural set for  Andrej Tarkovsky's Nostalgia and for Carlo Verdone's Al lupo al lupo. These thermal warm waters were one of the meeting points for the Etruscans and, later, hosted and inspired Lorenzo il Magnifico, Saint Caterina da Siena, pope Pio Piccolomini,  and more contemporary artists enchanted by the presence of a big thermal bath in the middle of a burg and not, as usual, in the outskirts of a city, and by the suggestive fog much more evident during winter nights with a clear sky. Italic populations knew and appreciated very well the therapeutic virtues of the healthy waters that gained the respect and protection for generations till now, so that they arrived unaltered or still untouched to present. In particular in Etruscan thermae, ancient gestures melt with luxury contemporary rituals, reserving a space also to the 'popular' use, fully respecting nature. A good example is the famous Saturnia complex with the natural small falls freely accessible and the SPA that offers paths studied for a selected public, based on the well studied salvage of the tradtions for the wellness market, with thermal products elaborated on ancient recipes, massages and cures for the body and the self that mix the most cutting-edge wellbeing techniques with gestures deeply rooted in the Italic and pre-Roman culture. The scarce information on the Etruscan culture, show us quite a liberal and libertine society, attentive to beaty, the frivolity of apparences and, obvuously, to wellbeing of the body with oils, creams and, most probably, clays and muds. A revival of traditions in the contemporary society, especially in the industry that make of the daily pleasures a matter of luxurious attention to the self. 

©2010.2021

Italic Thermae. Roman Tuscia, Stigliano thermal baths

Not far from the capital, in the Roman Tuscia, lays an angle of paradise for who loves warm thermal baths, a thermal complex with probable Etruscan origins, named after the Styx, vestibule, hallway to hell. An eighteenth century structure used for the cures and for the SPA frames two small swimming pools surrounded by Etruscan hills and fed with sulfur-iodine hyperthermal (95°F35°C->133°F56°C). The thermae, with the natural steam grotto 'grotta sudatoria', a cave sauna, were considered the necessary step for Roman soldiers coming from Egypt to purify from potential illnesses and 'disinfect' before entering the city. Evidences of tubs in polychrome marbles with statues and little columns might suggest the transformation from a typical Etruscan bath to a Roman thermal bath station, before being handed over noble families that built what is the actual thermal complex nowadays. The springs aren't very generous, but enough to feed a small swimming pool with tepid water (79F26°C->86°F30°C) and a big sink with warm water where it is possible to relax listening to the rustle of wind and trees, the tweeting of birds and the shrill of the cicadas. Perfect for the first spring sun and for who loves thermal cures in an exclusive environment.

©2010.2021