The same geology that produced Vesuvius and Etna gives Italy hundreds of thermal springs, and the Romans built on most of them. Saturnia's cascading limestone pools in Tuscany are free and open all night; Bagno Vignoni has a thermal pool as its village square; Ischia is effectively one large spa island; Bormio, Merano, Montecatini and the Euganean Hills at Abano cover the alpine and northern end.
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Start here
If you only do 5 things on this theme.
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Terme di Saturnia Sulphur water at 37.5°C falling through white limestone terraces — free, and open all night -
Ischia A volcanic spa island — thermal parks, hot springs and a castle on a rock -
Bagno Vignoni A village whose main square is a steaming Roman thermal pool -
Bormio & the Valtellina Roman thermal baths, a World Cup downhill and the road to the Stelvio -
Merano A Habsburg spa town with subtropical gardens under alpine peaks
Everywhere else on this theme
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Pantelleria A black volcanic island closer to Africa than to Sicily, with no beaches and famous wine -
Trauttmansdorff Castle Gardens Eighty garden landscapes on a hillside above Merano -
Lake Garda & Sirmione Italy's largest lake, with a moated castle on a two-kilometre peninsula -
Grado & the lagoon A sandy island resort with an early-Christian centre, in its own lagoon
The regions that deliver on it
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Lombardy Milan, the great lakes and the Alps of Valtellina -
South Tyrol German-speaking Italy under the Dolomites -
Friuli Venezia Giulia Habsburg Trieste, Roman Aquileia and Italy's finest white wines -
Tuscany The Renaissance, the Chianti hills and the coast most visitors miss -
Campania Naples, Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast and the islands of the bay -
Sicily Greek temples, Arab-Norman Palermo, Etna and its own archipelagos
Other ways to travel Italy
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Art & culture More UNESCO World Heritage sites than any other country on earth -
Food & wine Regional to the point of parochial — and all the better for it -
Coast & islands 7,900 km of coastline and around eighty inhabited islands -
Italian lakes Como, Garda, Maggiore — the Grand Tour's original destination -
Mountains & the Dolomites The Dolomites, the western Alps and the wild Apennines -
UNESCO Italy Sixty World Heritage sites — the largest tally of any country -
Borghi & villages The hill towns that carry I Borghi più belli d'Italia and the Orange Flag - Nature & national parks 25 national parks, from alpine glaciers to volcanic islands
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Spirituality & pilgrimage Rome, Assisi, and the pilgrim roads that connect them -
Sport & the outdoors Dolomiti Superski, the Giro's climbs and Garda's windsurfing -
Shopping & markets Milan's Quadrilatero, Florence's leather and the weekly market habit -
Events & festivals The Palio, Carnevale, the Biennale and an opera season in a Roman arena -
Luxury Italy Portofino, the Costa Smeralda, Capri and the great lake villas