Emilia-Romagna · Bologna
Castel San Pietro Terme
A 75-meter thermal town east of Bologna, its sulphurous waters in use since 1137.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Castel San Pietro Terme is on our list
It holds Cittaslow and Città dell'Olio.
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Visiting
- Best time
- All year
- By car
- 39 min from Bologna
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 20,613
When to visit
Best · All year
- J9°
- F13°
- M15°
- A18°
- M23°
- J29°
- J32°
- A31°
- S26°
- O21°
- N13°
- D9°
- 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 on the Sillaro river, which marks the historic border between Emilia and Romagna, twenty kilometers east of Bologna on the Via Emilia. It was founded as a Bolognese castrum in 1200, and the walled core still follows that original plan, with the river bridge on one edge and the road toward Imola leading out past the walls to the pilgrimage shrine beyond. Castel San Pietro also joined the Città dell'Olio network for its hillside olive cultivation, a rural counterpart to the spa and civic life inside the walls.
The Conservatorio Santa Caterina, founded in 1741, is one of the older female educational institutions still active in the region, sitting inside the same historic core as the gateway and the town hall. The town reads as two things held together: a walled medieval seat on a border river, and a spa destination whose waters predate the walls by decades. Both draw on what was already there long before either was built up for visitors.
How to get there
From Bologna (BLQ), about 37 min by car.
Rimini (RMI) is about 1 h 30 min away.
By car from the center of Parma 1 h 30 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Bologna, Florence or Verona?
Coming by train into Bologna Centrale? Castel San Pietro Terme is about 35 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Bologna airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Cassero
The gateway stands at the southern edge of the old walls, its stone face marking what was once the main entry into the castrum. Inside, the civic theater now occupies the space, so the structure that once controlled access to the town now hosts its audiences.
Terme di Castel San Pietro
The complex draws on sulphurous, ferruginous and salt-bromine-iodide springs, with the first establishment opened in 1870. The waters run year-round from the same sources used centuries before the modern building existed.
Santuario del Crocifisso del Piratello
Pilgrimage shrine on the Via Emilia toward Imola, built around a fifteenth-century crucifix and decorated by Innocenzo da Imola. It drew pilgrim traffic from across northern Emilia, standing apart from the walled town on the road out toward Romagna.
Palazzo del Municipio
Town hall on Piazza XX Settembre, with the seventeenth-century Torre dell'Orologio and the local civic museum.
Centro storico
Medieval walled core on the Via Emilia, holding the gateway, the Conservatorio Santa Caterina of 1741 and the Sillaro river bridge within a compact perimeter.
From the guides
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
GastareaBistrot
Gastarea holds one Gambero Rosso table.
Il GrifoneRistorante
A spot in the Michelin Guide, at Il Grifone.
Osteria La CivichellaTrattoria
Osteria La Civichella has one Gambero Rosso prawn to its name.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Castel San Pietro Terme meets 1 of our 2 rules for a small town.
- 20,613 people, above our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: big enough that it can split into neighborhoods.
- Imola, a city of 69,403, 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.
- A station of its own. Trains are the overlooked way to get around Italy: no parking, straight into the center.
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 20,613, down 0.6% since 2015
- Nearest city Imola, 25 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital Imola, 11 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,650 to €2,050 per m² to buy, €7.60 to €10.00 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 75% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Bologna airport (BLQ), 37 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Market day Monday
- Regional capital Bologna, 39 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
9% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Morocco and Pakistan, against 9% across Italy. 44 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany, France and the United States. There are 257 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 14% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Bologna province ranks 4th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Imola, 11 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Bologna, 23 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Bologna, 23 km away. The nearest IB school is International School of Bologna, 22 km as the crow flies. There are 2 within 30 km.
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 is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Emilia-Romagna spends about €2,500 a month, €560 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €604 a year for water, on the Emilia-Romagna average. In Bologna, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.35, a meal in a pizzeria €12.93 and a man's haircut €21.06.
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. 3% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 36% in a high or medium one. 1% 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: Terme di Castel San Pietro, Anusca Palace Wellnes & SPA.
Known for
THERMAL WATERS
Sulphurous and salt-bromine-iodide springs documented since 1137, with a working spa complex still drawing the same waters in the centro storico.
THE CASSERO
1200-built gateway into the medieval castrum walls, the symbol of the town, now serving as the civic theater.
CITTASLOW
Castel San Pietro joined the international Cittaslow network in 2005, the first Bolognese commune to do so.
PROTECTED PRODUCTS
The commune lies inside the Romagna Albana DOCG, Formaggio di Fossa di Sogliano DOP and Asparago verde di Altedo IGP production zones.
Common questions
- What is Castel San Pietro Terme known for?
- Castel San Pietro Terme is a 75-meter thermal town east of Bologna, its sulphurous waters in use since 1137.
- Where is Castel San Pietro Terme?
- Castel San Pietro Terme is a comune in the province of Bologna, in Emilia-Romagna, at 75 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Castel San Pietro Terme?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Bologna (BLQ), about 37 min by car.
- Can you get to Castel San Pietro Terme without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Parma to Castel San Pietro Terme?
- About 1 h 30 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Castel San Pietro Terme?
- Any month of the year works. July is the warmest month, averaging 32 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 13 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Castel San Pietro Terme?
- Montecatini-Terme, Abano Terme and San Giuliano Terme.
- How many people live in Castel San Pietro Terme?
- 20,613 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Castel San Pietro Terme a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Castel San Pietro Terme is a small town that meets 1 of our 2 rules. The nearest city, Imola, is 25 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Imola, 11 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 75% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
The numbers
- Elevation: 75 m
- Population: 20,613
- Surface area: 148.42 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 Castel San Pietro Terme appears in
- The best cheese towns within two hours of BolognaNear Bolognawithin 2 hourscheese zone6 towns · smallest 1,964 residents · closest 37 min away
- The best hot-spring towns within two hours of ParmaNear Parmahot springswithin 2 hours6 towns · smallest 3,322 residents · closest 24 min away
- The best hot-spring towns within two hours of VeniceNear Venicehot springswithin 2 hours6 towns · smallest 1,779 residents · closest 43 min away
- The best towns known for what they grow within 45 minutes of BolognaNear Bolognawithin 45 minproduce zone6 towns · smallest 6,569 residents · closest 37 min away
- The best hot-spring towns within two hours of RiminiNear Riminihot springswithin 2 hours7 towns · smallest 1,648 residents · closest 34 min away
- The best towns that eat well within an hour of BolognaNear Bolognawithin 60 mineats well7 towns · smallest 10,939 residents · closest 26 min away
Similar
Towns like Castel San Pietro Terme
What all six share with Castel San Pietro Terme: over 10,000 people · near sea level · have a railway station in the comune
- Written about. No. 14.
Montecatini-Terme
Province: Pistoia
both spa towns
Abano Terme
Province: Padova
both spa towns
- Written about. No. 15.
San Giuliano Terme
Province: Pisa
both spa towns
Acqui Terme
Province: Alessandria
both spa towns
Collecchio
Province: Parma
1 h 42 min apart by road
Sasso Marconi
Province: Bologna
49 min apart by road
The letter
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