Tuscany · Pisa
San Giuliano Terme
A thermal spa ten kilometers from Pisa, where the springs were bathed since the Romans called them Aquae Pisanae.
Known for
AQUAE PISANAE
Hot springs known to the Romans, rebuilt by the Medici and Lorena, with water between 38 and 41 degrees.
BYRON & SHELLEY
Byron, the Shelleys and Leopardi took the waters here in the 1820s, with both Byron and Shelley writing during their stays.
ACQUEDOTTO MEDICEO
Six kilometers and 934 arches built by Cosimo I from 1592 to carry Monte Pisano spring water down to Pisa.
When to visit
Best · All year
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
The festa: Bartolomeo, 24 August
Why come
San Giuliano Terme sits at the southern foot of Monte Pisano, ten kilometers north of Pisa. The name Aquae Pisanae was the ancient one for the springs that rise here, and the town's own name records the later dedication to San Giuliano rather than to Pisa, though the waters remain tied to the city below by the aqueduct that still carries them there. The frazioni climb the slope of Monte Pisano itself, olive groves stepping up the lower ground while the plain beneath opens into the pine forests and dunes of the Parco di Migliarino-San Rossore-Massaciuccoli, so the comune runs in one line from mountain ridge to coastal flat with the spa town fixed at the hinge between them. What holds the place together is water moving downhill: from the spring, through the baths where the waters were taken, along the arches to Pisa, and out across the plain toward the sea.
What to see
Bagni di Pisa
The restored complex occupies the eighteenth-century Lorena baths, its rooms the ones where Byron, Shelley and Leopardi lodged while taking the waters.
Acquedotto Mediceo
The line of arches runs from the springs of Asciano down to Pisa, parallel to the modern road, still legible as a single continuous structure across the plain.
Monte Pisano
The granite ridge above the town, with olive groves on the lower slopes and trails leading to Rocca della Verruca.
Parco di Migliarino-San Rossore-Massaciuccoli
Coastal-plain park bordering the comune, with the old Medici hunting estate of San Rossore and pine forests behind the dunes.
Pieve di San Giovanni Battista a Pugnano
Eleventh-century Romanesque parish church in the frazione of Pugnano, on the old Pisa-Lucca road.
The slow-trip planner
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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.
Locanda Sant'AgataRistorante
Locanda Sant'Agata has a spot in the Michelin Guide to its name.
Bagni di Pisa Palace & Thermal SpaHotel
A Leading Hotels of the World listing, at Bagni di Pisa Palace & Thermal Spa.
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 Pescefood festival
The Sunday letter
San Giuliano Terme got its letter. One town every Sunday, free — the photo, the food, the festa.
Living here
- Population 30,652
- Commuter belti
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest airport Florence / Pisa, 26 min drive
- Regional capital Firenze, 1 h 20 min drive
This is a thermal town — terme operate here.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 10 m
- Population: 30,652
- Surface area: 91.77 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, 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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