Fosso Bianco

Among the vineyards and rolling hills of the Tuscan countryside you can find some of the most spectacular and beautiful hot springs in all of Italy. Bagni San Filippo, located in the province of Siena, Italy, offers a number of waterfalls and thermal pools for soaking and relaxing that have been visited for centuries. The healing waters offer a great place to take a dip and a give oneself a mineral-rich mud bath year round.

The calciferous formations, steaming pools and waterfalls can be found scattered along a creek in the woods on the outskirts of town. There is metered parking along the winding narrow road, and several short paths that lead down to the creek. The first path at the top of the hill will bring you down to the uppermost set of pools. Here you will find a tier of about five pools overlooking a small waterfall and cold water creek. These are the least sulfurous pools in the area and give off the least amount of smell. From here you can cross the creek and make your way down stream to the next set of pools. You will see a bridge crossing the creek to larger shallow pools at the base of a large white calciferous formation. This path across the bridge also leads back up to the road and is considered the main point of entry for the springs. These larger shallow pools don't hold the heat as well and tend to cool off faster than some of the others.

Continuing down creek, the next set of tiered pools has a deep layer of mineral-rich setiment perfect for a mud bath. The smaller pool off to the side in this series is very hot and not suitable for bathing. Following the path downstream you will eventually make your way to an area known as Fosso Bianco or the "white whale." Here you will find cascading waterfalls and blue pools littering the side of a large calciferous formaion said to resemble the mouth of a whale. When climbing up to the pools, be careful where you step because the spring water comes out of the ground at 48 degrees Celsius at the source. If you continue downstream from Fosso Bianco you will find a modern day spa and more pools along the creek for relaxtion. If you feel as though a shower is necessary after your dip in the springs, the spa has showers available to visitors for a small fee.