Honey-coloured stone buildings surround the 16th century Bath of St Catherine, a rectangular pool in the centre of Bagno Vignoni, Tuscany, Italy, full of hot volcanic spring water bubbling up from deep underground. The soothing and healing properties of the steaming water 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 surround the rectangular 16th century stone bathing pool or basin in Piazza delle Sorgenti, where hot volcanic spring water bubbles up from a subterranean aquifer. Archaeologists believe that the Etruscans were among the first to appreciate the therapeutic qualities of the hot springs at Bagno Vignoni, an ancient hilltop spa village above the Val d'Orcia, southeast of Siena. 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, able to relax muscles and soothe 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 49 x 29 m 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: 2848px × 4288px
Location: Bagno Vignoni, Tuscany, Italy.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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