Honey-coloured stone buildings reflected in hot volcanic spring water bubbling up in the 16th century Bath of St Catherine, a rectangular pool at the heart of Bagno Vignoni, Tuscany, Italy. The steaming water's soothing and healing properties have been enjoyed by Etruscans, Romans, St Catherine of Siena, Medici ruler Lorenzo the Magnificent, Pope Pius II, writer Charles Dickens and the Marquis de Sade.
Bagno Vignoni, Tuscany, Italy: medieval and Renaissance buildings in honey-coloured Tuscan stone reflected in hot volcanic spring water bubbling up in the rectangular 16th century stone bathing pool or basin in Piazza delle Sorgenti, the heart of this ancient spa village above the Val d'Orcia, southeast of Siena. Archaeologists suggest that the Etruscans were among the first to appreciate the therapeutic qualities of Bagno Vignoni's hot springs. The Romans also bathed here to benefit their health, with the steaming sulphurous water, rising at 52 degrees Celsius and rich in magnesium and calcium sulphate, relaxing muscles and soothing painful conditions such as arthritis, osteoporosis and rheumatism. In late medieval times, Bagno became a popular stopping-place for Christian pilgrims treading the Via Francigena route to Rome. Among them, in the mid-1300s, was St Catherine of Siena. Other visitors to luxuriate in the healing waters included Pope Pius II (1405-64), Florentine statesman Lorenzo (The Magnificent) de' Medici (1449-92), 16th century philosopher Michel de Montaigne and writers Charles Dickens and the Marquis de Sade. More recently, the picturesque village was chosen by acclaimed Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky as the main location for his 1983 film, 'Nostalghia'. Although bathing is now prohibited in the deep 49 x 29 m central Bath of St Catherine, Bagno Vignoni is still a popular tourist destination, with visitors able to bathe at local hotels in water from the same underground source. Its sights also include remains of water mills and the complex network of canals that once powered them in the Parco dei Mulini (Park of the Mills), below the village.
Size: 4288px × 2848px
Location: Bagno Vignoni, Tuscany, Italy.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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