Tuscany · Siena
San Casciano dei Bagni
A hilltop borgo at 582 meters above 42 hot springs that produced the largest Etruscan bronze hoard of the last fifty years.
- Best time
- All year
- By car
- 1 h 6 min from Perugia
- Population
- 1,500
Known for
FORTY-TWO SPRINGS
Hot springs averaging 42 degrees Celsius, used from the second century BC and developed into a Roman thermal sanctuary.
THE BRONZES
24 Etruscan bronze votive statues found in 2022 with 6,000 coins, the largest Italic bronze find of the last fifty years.
BORGHI PIÙ BELLI
Joined the Borghi più belli d'Italia network in 2014, one of Italy's smallest communes to carry the label alongside Bandiera Arancione.
When to visit
Best · All year
- J8°
- F11°
- M12°
- A16°
- M21°
- J26°
- J31°
- A30°
- S24°
- O19°
- N13°
- D10°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
The festa: Cassiano di Imola, 13 August
Why come
San Casciano dei Bagni sits at 582 meters at the southern edge of the province of Siena, above 42 hot springs that average 42 degrees Celsius. The baths were used continuously from Etruscan through Roman times and again from the Renaissance, when visitors came from across Europe. In 2022, an excavation that began in 2019 at the ancient sanctuary turned up 24 bronze votive statues protected by mud, with around 6,000 coins in gold, silver and bronze.
The find was the largest of its kind in fifty years; most surviving Etruscan votive material is terracotta. The 1,500 residents live on a basalt outcrop above the Roman thermal complex, in a centro storico of stone houses and three small churches. The borgo joined the Borghi più belli network in 2014 and remains one of the smallest communes in Toscana to carry both that label and Bandiera Arancione.
Our guide
Our nearest guide, 66 km away
Tuscan Mainland: the towns, when to go, how to get there
The postcard country, and what is under it. 15 towns, the drive and train times, the months, where to eat and sleep.
Read the guideOr take the Sunday letter: one town a week, free.
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Read on
San Casciano dei Bagni in our articles
The 6 best towns on a walking route that eat well in the province of Siena6 towns, San Casciano dei Bagni among them.
The best small towns on a walking route in the province of Siena6 towns, San Casciano dei Bagni among them.
The best small towns with a serious restaurant in the province of Siena6 towns, San Casciano dei Bagni among them.
The best towns worth staying overnight that eat well within 90 minutes of Perugia6 towns, San Casciano dei Bagni among them.
How to get there
From Rome (FCO), about 2h 39m by car.
Ancona / Pescara (AOI) is about 2h 40m away.
By car from the centre of Perugia 1 hour, Siena 1h 28m or Florence 1h 43m.
Coming by train into Perugia? San Casciano dei Bagni is about 1 hour away by road.
What to see
Santuario Ritrovato
Etruscan-Roman thermal sanctuary excavated since 2019, where 24 bronze votives and around 6,000 coins were recovered in 2022.
Bagno Grande
The principal natural pool of the 42 hot springs, used from the second century BC through the Renaissance and reopened to the public.
Collegiata di San Leonardo
Romanesque parish church in the centro storico, restored in the seventeenth century, with a baptismal font carved from local travertine.
Centro storico
Stone borgo on a basalt outcrop above the springs, encircled by medieval walls and stitched with stepped alleys.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where San Casciano dei Bagni 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 and stay
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.
Castello di FighineRistorante
Castello di Fighine has two Gambero Rosso forks (84/100) to its name.
DanielaRistorante
Daniela holds a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Fonteverde Thermal Spa ResortHotel
Fonteverde Thermal Spa Resort has a Leading Hotels of the World listing to its name.
Through the year
What happens here
Feasts and festivals that come back year after year. We give the month rather than the date, because the date moves and the month rarely does. Check with the source before you plan a journey around one.
Sagra del Ciaffagnone di San Casciano dei Bagnifood festival
usually held in June. Borghi Toscana - Eventi
Palio di San Cassiano di San Casciano dei Bagnihistorical re-enactment
usually held in August. Borghi Toscana - Eventi
Living here
- Population 1,500, down 12.4% since 2015 (Italy's emptying towns)
- Remotei
- Pharmacy: none mapped
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Nearest public hospital Acquapendente, 12 km as the crow flies
- Full fibre reaches 81% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Nearest airport Rome, 2 h 39 min drive
- Regional capital Firenze, 1 h 43 min drive
Could you live here?
San Casciano dei Bagni is at the end of the road.
- A village of 1,500. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Città della Pieve, is 27 minutes away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Arezzo, a city of 96,260, is 1 h 12 min by car. Further than our 30 to 60 minutes, a long way for the hospital visit or the monthly shopping.
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. The rest of the series, and the best towns to move to, arrive in the Sunday letter.
The button takes you to the letter's own page on Substack, where you leave your email. About the letter
Thermal baths in town: Bagno Bossolo, San Casciano dei Bagni.
Common questions
- What is San Casciano dei Bagni known for?
- San Casciano dei Bagni is a hilltop borgo at 582 meters above 42 hot springs that produced the largest Etruscan bronze hoard of the last fifty years.
- Where is San Casciano dei Bagni?
- San Casciano dei Bagni is a comune in the province of Siena, in Tuscany.
- What is the nearest airport to San Casciano dei Bagni?
- Rome (FCO), about 2h 39m by car.
- How long is the drive from Perugia to San Casciano dei Bagni?
- About 1 hour by car.
- When is the best time to visit San Casciano dei Bagni?
- Best All year. July is the warmest month, averaging 31 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 12 rain days.
- Is there a sagra or a festival in San Casciano dei Bagni?
- Yes. Sagra del Ciaffagnone di San Casciano dei Bagni and Palio di San Cassiano di San Casciano dei Bagni. June is when the first of them falls.
- Which other towns are like San Casciano dei Bagni?
- Acquasanta Terme, Caramanico Terme and Casperia.
- How many people live in San Casciano dei Bagni?
- 1,500 at the 2023 count.
- Is San Casciano dei Bagni a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, San Casciano dei Bagni is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Città della Pieve, is 27 minutes away. The nearest city, Arezzo, is 1 h 12 min away by car. The nearest public hospital is in Acquapendente, 12 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 81% of homes.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 582 m
- Population: 1,500
- Surface area: 92.14 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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