Bagnaccio

Viterbo, Viterbo Province, Italy

Location: Viterbo, Viterbo Province, Italy
Water type: sulfurous
Temperature: 37 °C
pH: 6.5

Water profile

Thermicity

Neutral

37 °C

LowHigh

Soothing — neither hot nor cold, perfect balance.

Mineralisation

Bio-active

LowHigh

Rich in active gases or metals — a strong mineral character.

Buoyancy

Standard buoyancy

LowHigh

Soft water — natural, classic buoyancy.

SoufreSulfuresSulfates

Known in antiquity as Aquae Passeris, the natural thermal park of Bagnaccio, on the outskirts of Viterbo, belongs to a cluster of springs already used in Etruscan-Roman times, in the 3rd century BC. Its popularity was recorded by ancient authors including Strabo, Tibullus, Symmachus, Martial and Scribonius Largus, physician to Emperor Tiberius; the site even appeared on the Tabula Peutingeriana, the road map of the Roman Empire.

Later, the Via Francigena turned it into a favoured stop for pilgrims travelling toward Rome. Today managed by a local association, Bagnaccio remains a free, open-access thermal park, surrounded by ancient ruins that tell a story spanning more than twenty centuries.

Insider tip — Bagnaccio is a free-access outdoor thermal complex just north of Viterbo, where sulfurous waters at around 37°C fill stone pools set in a volcanic landscape of tufa cliffs and wild fig trees. Long used by locals as the 'pope's bath' — medieval pontiffs soaked here after visiting Viterbo — the site retains its egalitarian, unhurried character. Sunrise soaks with steam rising over the Cimini hills are particularly memorable. The adjacent olive groves and the medieval walls of Viterbo visible on the ridge complete a quintessentially Lazio scene.

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