Terme Libere, Acqua Borra

Acqua Borra is a small hot spring in the Crete Senesi chalk hills, in the locality of Santa Maria a Dofana near Monteaperti, in the municipality of Castelnuovo Berardenga in the province of Siena. The page describing it is published by the comune under its listing of local places and parks, not by any bath operator, and it states that a small spring of thermal water rises here, which tradition holds to be miraculous. Beside the spring stands a farmhouse built against an unusual wall of travertine, and the municipality describes a large reservoir of very hot water in the ground beneath. Visitors should expect an unenclosed spring in open countryside: the municipality records the mode of access as "sempre aperto" - always open - and lists no admission charge, no opening times and no facilities of any kind.

Thermal water

According to the municipality, the water is thermal and draws on an abundant underground reservoir of very hot water. The page explains that once the water reaches the surface it cools and deposits the limestone it carries in solution, which over millennia built up into a small travertine hill. The municipality records that for millennia local people immersed themselves in the water to treat skin, joints, bones and muscles, and that it was also drunk. No temperature, flow rate or water analysis is published on the page.

History

The municipality states that Acqua Borra was frequented from the time of the ancient civilisations, and that clay objects have been found which were thrown into the water in honour of the nymphs held to guard the place. It cites the Trattato dell'Acqua Borra, written in 1647 by the Sienese physician and philosopher Leandro Terucci, which the page describes as mixing valuable observation with popular belief, and which also attempts to explain the unusual place name. The municipality adds that the travertine hill was cut into slices between the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth to quarry building stone with distinctive orange tones, and that only one wall now remains - the last face of the quarry on one side, and the wall of the farmhouse on the other.

Getting in

The municipality gives the address as Strada Provinciale 111 di Monteaperti 2, 53019 Castelnuovo Berardenga, and lists access as always open. No operator, ticket, opening hours, changing rooms or other facilities appear on the page, and the only contacts given are the comune's own switchboard and certified email address. A municipal notice for a cultural weekend in the area describes Acqua Borra as one of five narrative stops on a guided walk of about 5.2 kilometres on beaten paths, starting from the Bagnaccio car park and taking in the Oratory of Sant'Ansano, the archaeological site of the Roman villa, Montaperti and the view towards Colle Battaglia.