Marche · Ascoli Piceno
Acquasanta Terme
A sulphur-spring spa in the upper Tronto valley, where the water still surfaces at 30 degrees.
Picked by Peter Benei
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Visiting
- Best time
- All year
- By car
- 1 h 26 min from Pescara
- Population
- 2,423
When to visit
Best · All year
- J10°
- F13°
- M13°
- A16°
- M21°
- J27°
- J30°
- A30°
- S25°
- O21°
- N15°
- D12°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
The town sits fifteen kilometers from Ascoli Piceno, pressed between the Sibillini to the north and the Laga ridge to the south, in a stretch of the upper Tronto valley narrow enough that the springs, the river and the mountain walls are all within reach of each other. The commune spreads across 138 square kilometers of forested ridges, its 75 frazioni scattered along the valley sides while the town itself gives its name to the whole territory, one of the Marche communes with a foothold in the national park. The cure is older than the town's built center: the Roman consul Lucio Munazio Planco is said to have come here around 50 AD after treatments elsewhere failed him, and the first pools were cut into the rock at that time.
What is called the centro storico came later and took damage in the older parts of it in the 2016 earthquake, though the spa and the springs kept working through it. Upper valley and lower spa, old stone and hot water: the place has been organized around the same sulphur source since before it had a settled name for itself.
How to get there
From Ancona (AOI), about 1 h 47 min by car.
Rome Fiumicino (FCO) is about 2 h 45 min away.
By car from the center of Pescara 1 h 26 min, Ancona 1 h 42 min or Perugia 2 h 19 min.
Coming by train into Pescara Centrale? Acquasanta Terme is about 1 h 24 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Ancona airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Terme di Acquasanta
The spa complex sits on the same site where the first pools were cut into the rock, rebuilt across the centuries as the cure continued.
Lu Vurghe
The stream runs a kilometer above town through open ground before it reaches the Tronto, with no structure around it.
Parco Nazionale del Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga
Hiking routes climb from the commune into the Laga ridge and toward the Tronto headwaters.
Chiesa di San Francesco
Medieval parish church in the centro storico, with stonework from the thirteenth century and post-earthquake restoration completed in stages.
Living here
Could you live here?
Acquasanta Terme is at the end of the road.
- A village of 2,423. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Ascoli Piceno, is 25 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Ascoli Piceno, a city of 45,277, is 25 min by car. Closer than our 30 to 60 minutes: handy for everything, so check the town still keeps a life of its own.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 2,423, down 19.1% since 2015 (Italy's emptying towns)
- Nearest city Ascoli Piceno, 25 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Ascoli Piceno, 16 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €620 to €900 per m² to buy, €2.80 to €4.20 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Commuter belt
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 91% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Pescara airport (PSR), 1 h 35 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Ancona, 1 h 42 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
3% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Egypt and Poland, against 9% across Italy. There are 433 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 62% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Ascoli Piceno province ranks 22nd of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Ascoli Piceno, 16 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Terni, 65 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in L'Aquila, 42 km away. The nearest IB school is Viterbo International School, 114 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Marche International School, 68 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.8% to your income tax. 7% pensioner tax: this town qualifies, for someone with a foreign pension who has lived abroad for five years: 7% on foreign income, for ten years.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Marche spends about €2,480 a month, €620 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €643 a year for water, on the Marche average. In Ascoli Piceno, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.28, a meal in a pizzeria €11.39 and a man's haircut €18.98.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone E, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from October 15 to April 15, up to 14 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 2% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate medium for floods. 2% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Thermal baths in town: Lu Vurghe.
Known for
SULPHUR SPRINGS
Thermal water surfaces at 30 degrees and has been used for cures since the consul Lucio Munazio Planco came in 50 AD.
GRAN SASSO E LAGA
Inside the national park, with 138 square kilometers of forested ridges and 75 scattered frazioni.
LU VURGHE
Open thermal stream above town, where sulphur water meets the Tronto warm enough to bathe in through winter.
Common questions
- What is Acquasanta Terme known for?
- Acquasanta Terme is a sulphur-spring spa at 392 meters in the upper Tronto valley, where the water still surfaces at 30 degrees.
- Where is Acquasanta Terme?
- Acquasanta Terme is a comune in the province of Ascoli Piceno, in Marche.
- What is the nearest airport to Acquasanta Terme?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Pescara (PSR), about 1 h 35 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Pescara to Acquasanta Terme?
- About 1 h 26 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Acquasanta Terme?
- Any month of the year works. July is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 16 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Acquasanta Terme?
- San Casciano dei Bagni, Serra San Quirico and Petritoli.
- How many people live in Acquasanta Terme?
- 2,423 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Acquasanta Terme a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Acquasanta Terme is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Ascoli Piceno, is 25 min away. The nearest city, Ascoli Piceno, is 25 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Ascoli Piceno, 16 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 91% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 392 m
- Population: 2,423
- Surface area: 138.39 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Acquasanta Terme appears in
Similar
Towns like Acquasanta Terme
What all six share with Acquasanta Terme: hill towns
San Casciano dei Bagni
Province: Siena
both spa towns · both under 3,000 people
Serra San Quirico
Province: Ancona
both under 3,000 people
Petritoli
Province: Fermo
both under 3,000 people
Staffolo
Province: Ancona
both under 3,000 people
Offagna
Province: Ancona
both under 3,000 people
Rapolano Terme
Province: Siena
both spa towns
The letter
Acquasanta Terme is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter: the photo, what is worth eating, and when to turn up. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Acquasanta Terme comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Scheggino, 48 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.