Sanctuaire thermal du Bagno Grande (San Casciano dei Bagni)

San Casciano dei Bagni

At San Casciano dei Bagni, in Tuscany, a thermal spring still gushes out where the Etruscans, then the Romans, built a sanctuary. The excavations, launched in 2019 under the direction of the University for Foreigners of Siena, brought up from the mud in 2022 about twenty bronze statues. The Italian Ministry of Culture speaks of the largest deposit of Etruscan and Roman bronze statues ever discovered in Italy. The offerings also include reproductions of body parts, given to ask for health or to give thanks for a cure. According to the Nova agency, inscriptions in Etruscan and Latin cite great local families, and the Latin texts mention the ‘aquae calidae’, the hot waters. The place was active from the 3rd century BC to the 5th century AD, and most of the bronzes date from the 2nd and 1st centuries BC. A travertine altar consecrated to Apollo was found on the threshold of the monumental entrance. Altars to Fortuna Primigenia and to Isis were also discovered, with a statue of Hygieia, according to the journal Finestre sull'Arte. The sanctuary was therefore shared among several deities around the same hot water. The excavations continue.

Ministère italien de la Culture — note de presse sur le sanctuaire de San Casciano ↗

Getting there: At San Casciano dei Bagni (province of Siena), a few metres from the public baths of the Bagno Grande, which are still in use. The excavation site is not an ordinary visitor site: access conditions have not been verified. According to the press, a local museum is planned for the finds. Coordinates taken from Wikivoyage (‘scavi archeologici’).

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound