Hello dear friends,
I'm glad that my posts about the villages in Tuscany are well-received; it brings me immense pleasure. However, I have a lot more material to share with you and many more places to help you discover. This makes us realize how many villages there are in Tuscany alone.
Today, in particular, I'd like to introduce you to San Casciano dei Bagni, located in the province of Siena. It's not famous only for its beautiful historic village but also for its thermal baths with ancient origins. This village was probably founded by the Etruscans and later developed by the Romans.
I must say that the streets inside the village are not easy to navigate because most of them are uphill. This charming town is situated at about 600 meters on the slopes of Mount Cetona. They say it's one of the municipalities where there are more thermal water sources underground. At least, I found a sign that said so, although the reliability of the source needs to be confirmed.
There are several monuments to visit, including the town hall, the castle, the archpriest's palace, and the church of San Leonardo. Of course, I didn't have time to visit all these places, but I did visit the beautiful church, which fortunately was open and freely accessible. Surely, the most beautiful thing is the breathtaking view from this village. I practically only visited the center of the town. Regarding the thermal aspect, there is a thermal park nearby called Fonteverde, where you can immerse yourself in these thermal waters said to have beneficial properties.
In short, even in this village, there's no shortage of things to do. It's not just a place for art lovers like me; there are also many paths nearby winding through hills and woods, perfect for beautiful walks. I only regret not being able to visit the Town Hall, where the Cassaniesi rooms are, and there are historical artifacts to see.
Certainly, like other places I've visited and shared here in previous posts, this is an interesting stop for those passing through the province of Siena. This is also a less touristy place where only a few people live permanently. Along my walk, I noticed many closed houses, probably used mostly in the summer for holidays.
From my point of view, in these places, to enhance their value, there should be more emphasis on tourism. I think it's the only way to help them survive over time because here you have the opportunity to have an authentic experience, and I believe it's the experience that makes the difference in travel.
Thank you for taking the time to read my post. I hope you enjoyed the photos, and in some way, they virtually transported you to this place that is worth seeing in person! Have a great day, everyone!