Tuscany · Siena
Rapolano Terme
A Sienese thermal town of 38-degree calcium-sulphur waters and travertine quarries feeding facades beyond its borders.
- Best time
- All year
- By car
- 35 min from Siena
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 5,072
Known for
THERMAL WATERS
Calcium-sulphur-bicarbonate springs at 38 degrees, two historic facilities, in business since the eighteenth century.
TRAVERTINE
Mined at Serre di Rapolano since the 1500s, supplied the Tempio di San Biagio at Montepulciano and the façade of the Pienza Duomo.
GARIBALDI
Giuseppe Garibaldi recovered at the Terme Antica Querciolaia from the wounds sustained in the 1862 battle at Aspromonte.
When to visit
Best · All year
- J10°
- F13°
- M14°
- A18°
- M23°
- J28°
- J33°
- A32°
- S26°
- O21°
- N15°
- D11°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
The festa: Assunzione di Maria, 15 August
Why come
The comune sits on the eastern edge of the clay hills, twenty kilometers east of Siena. It was called simply Rapolano until 1949, when the spa industry pushed the name change, a shift that marks how thoroughly the waters came to define the place. The thermal facilities and the quarry sit at some distance from each other within the comune: the springs rise near the centro and to its south, while the travertine beds lie in the Serre frazione three kilometers further out, a separate settlement built around the stone rather than the water.
The medieval centro storico, meanwhile, holds no thermal or mineral history at all: a fortified perimeter, a Sienese-period castello on the highest point, and a parish church founded in the eleventh century, all predating the spa industry by centuries. The clay-hill landscape spreads north and west of the comune, and draws most visitors past the spa itself. What emerges is a town built on two extractive industries, water and stone, wrapped around an older walled settlement that has little to do with either.
The Sunday letter
Rapolano 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 every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Rapolano Terme comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.
Read on
Rapolano Terme in our articles
The 6 best hidden towns with a serious restaurant that you can reach by train within 90 minutes of Perugia6 towns, Rapolano Terme among them.
The best hidden hot spring towns you can reach by train in Toscana6 towns, Rapolano Terme among them.
The best hidden wine towns you can reach by train in the province of Siena6 towns, Rapolano Terme among them.
The best hot-spring towns within 75 minutes of Siena6 towns, Rapolano Terme among them.
How to get there
From Bologna (BLQ), about 2h 17m by car.
Florence / Pisa (PSA) is about 2h 29m away.
By car from the centre of Siena 35 minutes, Perugia 1 hour or Florence 1h 17m.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Florence, Rome or Bologna?
Coming by train into Perugia? Rapolano Terme is about 57 minutes away by road.
What to see
Terme Antica Querciolaia
Six outdoor pools at 38 degrees, the older of the two facilities and the one tied to a general's convalescence.
Terme San Giovanni
Thermal complex south of the centro among the clay hills of the Crete Senesi, with outdoor pools facing vineyards and olive groves.
Cave di travertino di Serre
Active quarries in the Serre di Rapolano frazione three kilometers south, the source of the stone behind the Pienza Duomo's façade.
Castello di Rapolano
Sienese-period fortress on the highest point of the centro storico, ruined but visible, anchoring the medieval perimeter walls.
Pieve di Sant'Andrea
Parish church inside the medieval walls of Rapolano, founded in the eleventh century, with later interventions through the Sienese centuries.
Crete Senesi
Clay-hill landscape north and west of the comune, with the cypress lines and isolated farmhouses that define the visual postcard of inland Toscana.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Rapolano Terme fits in a slow Italy circuit.
Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.
We recommend
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.
Osteria Il GranaioRistorante
One Gambero Rosso fork (77/100) for Osteria Il Granaio, and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Living here
- Population 5,072
- Commuter belti
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest airport Bologna, 2 h 17 min drive
- Regional capital Firenze, 1 h 17 min drive
Thermal baths in town: Terme Antica Querciolaia, Terme San Giovanni, Rapolano Terme.
Common questions
- What is Rapolano Terme known for?
- Rapolano Terme is a Sienese thermal town of 38-degree calcium-sulphur waters and travertine quarries feeding facades beyond its borders.
- Where is Rapolano Terme?
- Rapolano Terme is a comune in the province of Siena, in Tuscany, at 334 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Rapolano Terme?
- Bologna (BLQ), about 2h 17m by car.
- Can you get to Rapolano 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 Siena to Rapolano Terme?
- About 35 minutes by car.
- When is the best time to visit Rapolano Terme?
- Best All year. July is the warmest month, averaging 33 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 12 rain days.
- Is there a sagra or a festival in Rapolano Terme?
- The town keeps its patron saint's day: Assunzione di Maria, 15 August.
- Which other towns are like Rapolano Terme?
- Levico Terme, Battaglia Terme and Castelnuovo Berardenga.
- How many people live in Rapolano Terme?
- 5,072 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 334 m
- Population: 5,072
- Surface area: 83.04 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.
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