Terme di Acqui Terme (Lago delle Sorgenti)

The Terme di Acqui Terme lie in one of Italy's great historic spa towns, in the Monferrato hills of Alessandria province in southern Piedmont. The town's sulphurous, salt-bromine-iodine waters have been prized since Roman times, when Aquae Statiellae was already a renowned thermal centre, and the steaming La Bollente fountain still bubbles up at around 74.5°C in an octagonal marble pavilion in the old centre. The modern thermal offer is spread across the Antiche Terme establishment in the town and the Lago delle Sorgenti complex across the Bormida river, where a natural hot-spring lake feeds the baths. The signature treatment is fangoterapia, the application of sulphurous thermal mud matured in the mineral water, long used for rheumatic, joint, and skin conditions and at the heart of the town's curative tradition. Alongside the mud cures, the centres offer thermal pool bathing, balneotherapy, inhalation and aerosol therapy for respiratory complaints, and hydrotherapy, many recognised within the Italian thermal-cure system. The setting blends the dignified architecture of a long-established spa town with the green Monferrato countryside, giving the place a restorative, unhurried feel. Day packages run roughly from 25 to 120 euros depending on whether a visit covers pool and wellness access alone or includes guided mud, inhalation, or massage treatments, with longer half-day programmes at the upper end. Reservation is advised for the medically oriented mud and inhalation cures, while pool and wellness access is more flexible. The complexes open through the day with seasonal hours, so confirming times ahead of a visit is sensible. For travellers exploring southern Piedmont, the spa pairs naturally with Acqui Terme's Roman aqueduct, its medieval centre, and the surrounding Brachetto d'Acqui and Dolcetto wine country, making a thermal day or longer wellness break that combines curative waters with the food and wine of the Monferrato. The free, steaming Bollente fountain in the old town is a sight in itself and a fine introduction to the source of the town's enduring spa fame.