Tuscan Hot springs of San Filippo and Saturnia

Italy is a Peninsula full of thermal activity, yet this is something you rarely read about in any guidebook of Italy. From top to bottom, Italy is speckled with hot springs ranging from high-end resorts to free cascades on mountainsides. Sometimes the hot spring will be a simple, natural pool out in a grassy field that will charge a small fee of €6 to enter. Such as Bagnaccio, where there is a snack bar, changing rooms and bathrooms and you provide the rest. I like Bagnaccio because it is a simple pool, low price and it has a nice grassy open area. I recommend packing a picnic, bringing a blanket or even lounge chairs and enjoying a couple of hours lounging at the hot spring. It is especially nice in Spring or Fall when you can soak up some warm sun while you lounge.

This time, however, we had our sights on the hot spring in San Filippo, nestled in the mountains of Tuscany near the Lazio border. San Filippo is a free and natural hot spring that has been known since Etruscan Times, that means before BC, for over two thousand years! 

We parked along the roadside and walked down a wooded path at the entrance of the town of Bagni San Filippo.

Soon we saw a milky river with several trinkling waterfalls that accumulated into small pools of warm water perfect for two or four persons. We were tempted to jump in but we were determined to continue until we saw the Calciferous formations of “Bianca Balena”, or the White Whale.

This is the Fosso Bianca, or white waterfalls with small pools clinging to the white mountain. It was formed by calcium formations due to the high calcium content of the therapeutic waters. The site is impressive and Jeff scampered right up the face of the white cliff.

I was a little more apprehensive and found a path that was a little less treacherous along the side of the White Whale. As I climbed the waterfalls I noticed each small, white pool had water of different temperature as fresh cool water from a stream mingled with the hot water from the hotspring. Some waterfalls and pools were 120 degrees, so we had to be careful which pool we stepped in on our ascent. 

Soon enough we found a little pool of warm water to our liking and we settled in to the milky white water and watched the scene below us. We were perched right below the large “whale” formation of calcium and could see many pools all around us and a large pool below us. All around us was forest, there were only a few other people here on this Friday morning and the temperatures were perfect.

Thunder storms were forecasted for the afternoon but for now it was cool enough to enjoy the warm steamy water but still sunny and comfortable on this June day. We moved along the pools and found another pool that was very hot but a cool stream flowed down and mixed with the hot water creating the perfect temperature.

After a while of lingering in the water we climbed down the mountain and ventured out into the wooded area that provided a stark contrast to the white mountain. In the wooded area we found warm pools and waterfalls under a canopy of leafy green trees. As the water rippled in the pools below, sunlight reflected up to the leaves and created a dancing light show in the leaves above. It was nothing short of enchanting as you floated in the warm waters below.

I made the tragic mistake of getting my hair wet in the calcium rich waters which transformed my normally straight hair into a mass of cotton-like knots. Later I realized that if you want to extract moisture from a stain or oil spill you use baking soda. Well that is what I did to my hair! So for the rest of the day my hair lie in limp dreadlocks along my face. In fact it would be days of olive oil treatments and conditioner before my hair returned to some sort of normality, oh well, lesson learned.

Hunger started to remind us that we had lunch reservations at a little Osteria (casual local restaurant) called “Rifuge” about 20 minutes up the mountain. One of our local friends had recommended it, so we changed our clothes and wound our way up the curvy mountain roads. The sky started to darken and thunder began to rumble. Soon the first rain drops began to fall and we were happy to pull up to the wooden cabin with the word “Osteria” on the front, complete with an Alpine roof and nestled in forest.

When we opened the wooden door suddenly we were transported away from the sunny warm days of June and planted firmly in the the cozy days of January. There was a warm fire glowing in the corner which felt good since my hair was still a wet tangled mass piled on my head. There was only a few tables and a few locals happily dining in the warm corners of the restaurant. We were warmly invited by the owner to choose any table we like. We chose the one in front of the fire next to the local gentleman with a dog who clearly had an appetite for the delicious cuisine placed on the table. 

The menu was “verbal” only, as is typical of this type of Osteria and generally means your going to get a delicious meal! The owner recited many options: homemade pasta with porcini or Ragu for Primi. For Secondi there was tripe, pork filets with marmalade or Gorgonzola, slices of steak or snails. While we waited for our food to arrive, he brought us an aged Pecorino and salami “on the house” and a carafe of red wine. Soon we were slurping up homemade pasta and eating tender slices of Florentine steak while the rain pounded outside and thunder clapped. We were happy to be in our little oasis of a restaurant. The owner was a delight and since we were held hostage by the rain he poured us a glass of Prosecco that he pulled out of his cellar. He was tasting it because he had forgotten about it and it had aged 10 years which isn’t good for white wine. We all declared it delicious and not at all adversely affected by the time spent in the cellar. We ordered up some home made desserts to finish our meal and chatted away by the warmth of the fire. The owner pointed out a centerfold newspaper article framed on his wall from the New York Times raving about his little Osteria. He said a few years ago two people came in saying they were from the New York Times and he thought they just wanted a free meal, but several months later the whole crew appeared with cameras to finish the report. We agreed with their report of the back roads of Tuscany being the best!

After lunch we set off to our second “Terme” or hot spring of the day. The rain had stopped and we took the hour road-trip, winding through the Tuscan countryside. The sun was shining again and the wild flowers were happy with the rain. I suddenly had to go to the bathroom but there was not a town in sight. Finally I had to jump out and join a herd of pigs grazing in a field to relieve myself. Even pigs were indignant at this outrage and fled the scene, I was alone with the green grass swaying and the red poppies as the only witness to my crime.

Next up was Saturnia, a hot spring that is much more well know than San Filippo, it was made iconic by the warm water gushing out from behind a ancient stone building. This hot spring is also free and in the wild. You have to come prepared with everything you might need. Unfortunately for us the rain started up again and about the time we arrived at our destination it was in a full downpour. Not to be deterred, we pulled on a rain jacket over our bathing suits and plodded through the rain that had caused a raging river down what used to be the street. To the right we could see people huddled under a roof of the neighboring building clutching towels around their shivering wet bodies while they were seeking shelter from the rain. 

With Saturnia Terme in sight we plodded on through the rain. We could see a few intrepid bathers sunk deep in the warm water of the terme with steam rising up and swathing them in a mist. We stripped off our rain jackets and tucked them into a nearby cave, kicked off our flip flops and climbed into the warm steamy water. As we stepped in we could feel pebbles beneath our feet and we rapidly immersed ourself into the water that was much warmer than the outside air. Soon we were soaking in water up to our shoulders as water crashed around the edge of the stone building creating a whirlpool affect all around us.

The rain gradually stopped and the bathers who had huddled under the roofs’ shelter made their way back into the pools. We tried to determine which hot-spring we liked better, I chose San Filippo because I liked the rugged nature of it and the smooth white mountain. Both are a real treat to a “terme” lover like me.

After bathing for a while in the water we climbed out to make our way home to our next accommodations for the night. Unfortunately in Jeff’s haste to get into the water he lost a flip flop, so he had to cruise on back to the car sans one shoe. We climbed into the car, made a quick change out of our wet suits and back into dry clothes. We drove for a few minutes through the old city of Manciano perched on a hill, Jeff stopped in for a calzone because we knew our hotel was pretty isolated and we didn’t want to have to drive again once we arrived. This part of Tuscany is called the Maremma, it is beautiful preserved land that borders the hillsides of Tuscany and the coast. When we pulled down the long bumpy driveway to our hotel we knew we were in for a treat. 

The place I had chosen was less of a hotel and more of an Agritourism establishment. The property was actually a horse ranch that raised and boarded Egyptian Arabian horses. The “hotel” was about 8 rooms in a separate building with a swimming pool and the Tuscan Countryside laid out before us.

Our room was the nicest we have stayed at in Italy, there was a new kitchen, marble bathrooms, jetted shower-heads, a beautiful princess bed with a white and coral colored floral bed comforter.

The best part was the “view for days”. We had arrived with the beginning of Sunset so we poured a glass of wine and pulled up two lounge chairs in order to watch the show.

The sky turned from blue with streaks of orange, pink and red casting a pink hue to the entire countryside and reflecting in the pool. We were the only guests on this Friday night in June. It was a steal at $89 a night.

The name was Pietriccio Rosso and I would recommend you come prepared with wine and cheese for the sunset and pastries for the morning because you simply will not want to leave.

It was one of those surreal days when you think to yourself “Were we really sitting in a hot spring on a giant white whale in our bathing suits in the sunshine, then eating lunch in a thunderstorm at an Alpine Osteria by a warm fire for lunch? Did I really chase pigs from their field in the Tuscan countryside to get a little alone time next to the red poppies? Did we really run in the rain in our bathing suits and then plunge into hot springs? Did we really sip wine at a horse ranch and watch the sunset over Tuscany, all in one day?” Yes, yes we did.