Delve into the heart of Italy’s spa country – Tuscany. With so many different thermal pools you’ll need at least a week to try them all, writes Tiana Templeman.
The start of our two-hour journey from Rome along a busy motorway belies the natural beauty that unfolds when we turn off onto the quiet backroads that will take us to the spa region of Saturnia.
With its verdant fields, rich Roman history, and charming hill towns, it’s surprising this picturesque spot in southern Tuscany receives so few international travellers.
My husband and I only found it thanks to a tip-off from a Roman who grew up in Pitigliano, a nearby village perched on top of a cliff.
We make her hometown our first stop, waiting patiently for a conga line of tractors hauling grapes up the steep hill leading into town.
Saturnia isn’t just beautiful and filled with spas, it’s also one of Italy’s oldest and most respected wine regions, with crisp Bianco di Pitigliano available from just €5 ($9) a bottle. Soon we’ll get to taste it, but, like most truly memorable travel experiences, this doesn’t happen the way we planned.
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Aerial view of Saturnia in Tuscany, Italy. Photo / Christian Dübendorfer on Unsplash
Local encounters along roads less travelled
We’re strolling down Pitigliano’s cobblestone laneways looking for a wine store when we spot an elderly Italian showing a young man how to work the ancient wooden basket press underneath a house.
Instead of being told off for being stickybeaks, we’re invited into the cellar by Filippo Martini and his grandfather, who is supervising Filippo’s first vintage for the family. It’s here that we discover the Italians’ famous hospitality and also the first time we encounter the unspoiled charm that comes with visiting a lesser-known destination where there is no overtourism.
A backstreet in Pitigliano. Photo / Tiana Templeman
When the Italian winemakers discover our shared passion for wine, they invite us to stay for a drink. Glasses appear along with a handful of local bottles for tasting.
Filippo translates for his grandfather, and we spend an hour chatting, tasting and learning about the local wine scene. My husband and I have many wonderful culinary experiences in Tuscany, but this one stays with us long after we return home.
Filippo Martini in his cellar. Photo / Tiana Templeman
What it’s like to stay at a Tuscan spa resort
Our first Tuscan spa resort is equally memorable, and not just because everyone wears their bathrobes to breakfast. Terme di Saturnia Natural Spa and Golf Resort is unique as it has an Etruscan-era spring filling the hotel’s vast thermal pool.
Natural bubbles dimple the surface as water is forced through the rock, kissing our skin as we relax in the effervescent bubbles and take in the rural views.
Lounge at Terme di Saturnia Spa and Golf Resort restaurant and pool. Photo / Supplied
Some Italians collect the mineral-rich algae on the water’s surface and use it to massage their arms, legs and chests. We don’t go this far, but our skin looks and feels fantastic after our two-night stay, which we cap off with a date-night dinner at Restaurant 1919. It is named after the year the hotel opened and combines classic European cooking techniques with the region’s best produce.
Aside from remembering to wear your bathrobe to breakfast, there’s one other thing to keep in mind if you are visiting Tuscany’s spa country as a family.
Children are welcome everywhere in Italy, and luxurious spa hotels are no exception, but some pools are considered too deep (or, in some cases, too hot) for those aged under 14 to use safely. While there will almost certainly be a pool for children, confining a Kiwi kid who is a strong swimmer to a knee-deep ‘babies area’ is unlikely to go down well.
Our son prefers our next hotel, Fonteverde Holistic Wellness Retreat, which has some cooler pools that are suitable for all ages, plus a spa pool for toddlers and a man-made waterfall that’s so big we can sit behind it.
A Bioaquam pool flows from inside the spa to the pretty hotel grounds dotted with lavender and has massaging jets, underwater seats and beds, and hydro-massage areas.
Have a relaxing time at Fonteverde's waterfall. Photo / Supplied
How to use the hotel spa facilities
Whichever spa hotel or thermal facility you visit, there’s a dazzling array of different types of pools, most of which you probably won’t have seen before.
Some locals wear serious expressions and look like they’re following a pattern when they use the facilities, but a spa attendant assures us there is no ‘correct’ way to take to the waters. Simply choose a pool you like the look of, then relax and enjoy.
We try them all, even the ones that are so hot we only last a minute. Our favourite hotel spa experience involved floating on our backs in the warm water and watching stars come out overhead.
Soak in your chosen pool and don't worry too much about the process at Terme di Saturnia Natural Spa and Golf Resort. Photo / Supplied; Robert Bonardi
Where to spa like a local for free
After spending a few days soaking in the thermal pools at our hotel, we follow Filippo’s advice and set off to spa for free like a local. It doesn’t take long before we spot cars parked in what looks like the middle of nowhere and Italians carrying towels through the countryside.
We’re invited to join a local family for the walk along a rocky path to Le Cascate del Mulino. This tumbling cascade and its pools remind us of the waterholes in Tropical North Queensland, except they’re hot instead of cold.
We slip into one of the cooler natural pools near the base of the steaming waterfall, rest our heads against rocks worn smooth over hundreds of years and let the sound of the local’s lilting Italian and the waterfall’s gentle splash wash over us. Here, surrounded by the region’s beauty, there’s none of the seriousness we encountered at the high-end spa hotels.
Grandmothers wearing faded bikinis luxuriate in the healing waters while local lads clown around in the shallows, pretending they haven’t noticed the pretty girls checking them out from behind their sunglasses.
Most of the locals have brought drinks, water and snacks so they can stay and spa for free for the entire day, and we do the same for the remainder of our time in Tuscany.
Natural thermal springs in Saturnia are free to use. Photo / Tiana Templeman
A historic stay in Tuscany’s spa country
It’s a short drive from Le Cascate del Mulino to Sorano where we will spend our final night in Tuscany’s spa country.
With its labyrinth of winding streets and the Orsini Fortress sitting in a prime defensive position above the town, this tiny village provides a look at the history surrounding Tuscany’s spa country.
Tours of the fortress are conducted in Italian, but our guide gives us a printed English booklet to follow as we tour the garrison and descend down ancient stone staircases to walk along secret underground passages used by the soldiers to surprise their enemies.
Hotel della Fortezza. Photo / Trevor Templeman
However, the thing we’re most excited about is checking into Hoteldella Fortezza, a modest hotel that has been built in the oldest part of the fortress. As we turn on the light in our tower room and prepare for a restful evening, we spare a thought for the soldiers in the 14th century who had to stay awake all night to guard the tower and shoot arrows through the windows.
Roman soldiers were some of the first to discover the benefits of bathing in the local thermal springs, but you don’t need to be a battle-weary warrior – or stay in a spartan garrison – to enjoy a spa holiday in southern Tuscany.
The beauty of Sorano's Tuscany landscape is one for the books. Photo / Trevor Templeman
Checklist
Saturnia, Italy
GETTING THERE
Fly from Auckland to Rome with Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines or Emirates with one stopover. The drive from Rome to Saturnia takes about two hours.
GETTING AROUND
There is limited (or sometimes no public transport) available at some of the spots in this story; a hire car is essential for making the most of your time in this part of Italy.
DETAILS
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