Chianciano Terme is a ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' (municipality) in the

Province of Siena The province of Siena (, ) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Siena. It has 259,826 inhabitants. Geography The province is divided into seven historical areas: * Alta Val d'Elsa * Chian ...

in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

region

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

, located about southeast of

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

and about southeast of

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

. It is located between the

Valdichiana The Val di Chiana, Valdichiana, or Chiana Valley, formerly Clanis Valley, is a tectonic valley of central Italy, whose valley floor consists of important alluvial residues filled up since the 11th century, lying on the territories of the provinc ...

and the

Val d'Orcia The Val d'Orcia or Valdorcia () is a region of Tuscany, central Italy, which extends from the hills south of Siena to Monte Amiata. Its gentle, cultivated hills are occasionally broken by gullies and by towns and villages such as Pienza (rebu ...

. Chianciano Terme borders the following municipalities:

Chiusi Chiusi ( Etruscan: ''Clevsin''; Umbrian: ''Camars''; Ancient Greek: ''Klysion'', ''Κλύσιον''; Latin: ''Clusium'') is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Siena, Tuscany, Italy. History Clusium (''Clevsin or Camars'' in Etruscan) ...

Montepulciano Montepulciano () is a medieval and Renaissance hill town and ''comune'' in the Italian province of Siena in southern Tuscany. It sits high on a limestone ridge, east of Pienza, southeast of Siena, southeast of Florence, and north of Rome ...

Pienza Pienza () is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Siena, Tuscany, in the historical region of Val d'Orcia. Situated between the towns of Montepulciano and Montalcino, it is considered the "touchstone of Renaissance urbanism". In 1996, UNESCO d ...

Sarteano Sarteano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Siena in the Italian region Tuscany, located about southeast of Florence and about southeast of Siena. Sarteano is particularly important from the historical point of view. Located betwe ...

History

Chianciano Terme history dates back to the 5th century BC, when the

Etruscans The Etruscan civilization ( ) was an ancient civilization created by the Etruscans, a people who inhabited Etruria in List of ancient peoples of Italy, ancient Italy, with a common language and culture, and formed a federation of city-states. Af ...

built a temple dedicated to the god of Good Health, close to the Silene springs where the newer quarter of Chianciano (the ''Terme'' section) stands today. News of the curative power of Chianciano's water became well known during

Roman times In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman civilisation from the founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingd ...

, as

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). Th ...

visited the area on the advice of his physician during the 1st century BC. Luxurious Roman villas were built in the area near the thermal baths. In 1993 bathhouse columns and an enormous tile-paved swimming pool have been excavated as part of a major spa complex unlike anything else ever found in the Siena region and one of the largest in Italy, and consistent with Horace's description. There is little archaeological evidence of much activity during the Middle Ages, but, by the 12th and 13th centuries, Chianciano belonged to the Manenti Counts, Lords of Sarteano. Its position close to the

Via Francigena The Via Francigena (), also known as Francisca or Romea, is an ancient road and Christian pilgrimage, pilgrimage route running from the City status in the United Kingdom#Cathedral towns, cathedral city of Canterbury in England, through France and ...

(the medieval main connection from

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

) fostered its development, and Chianciano reached a degree of judicial autonomy by 1287 when it established its own statutes. In the 14th century, the city states of

Orvieto Orvieto () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy, situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff. The city rises dramatically above the almost-vertical faces of tuff cliffs that are compl ...

and

contended for it, with Siena being the ultimate victor. The first decades of the 20th century saw the area around the springs (the Terme section) draw the attention of developers. Between 1920 and 1930 neoclassical establishments with Pompeian-style bowers were built, then destroyed in 1940 when the Fascist-controlled state took possession. While under state control, a new town plan was designed by architects Loreti and Marchi, who also designed some spas in the Acqua Santa Park. The town plan was adjusted by the Town Technical Office of Chianciano in 1958 and passed in 1961.

Main sights

Present day Chianciano Terme has two distinct areas. Chianciano Vecchia (Ancient Chianciano) is located atop a small hill. The Porta Rivellini, with its elegant Renaissance structure, is the main gateway into the town at the end of the Via Dante. In contrast to this is the modern quarter, the ''Terme'', whose nucleus has grown around the thermal springs and stretches northward in a crescent shape along the Vale della Libertà towards the older city. The Church of the Immacolata, restored in 1588 after the Florentine conquest of Siena, once housed the paintings ''Annunciation'' by Niccolò Betti, ''Holy Family'' by Galgano Perpignani, and a fresco of ''Madonna of the Peace'' attributed to

Luca Signorelli Luca Signorelli ( – 16 October 1523) was an Italian Renaissance painter from Cortona, in Tuscany, who was noted in particular for his ability as a draftsman and his use of foreshortening. His massive frescos of the ''Last Judgment'' (1499–15 ...

. These works are currently all in the museum of the Collegiata Church of ''San Giovanni Battista'', a Romanesque-Gothic building with a notable portal. It houses a ''Holy Scene'' fresco (16th century), a 14th-century crucifix, and a wooden ''Dead Christ'' by Giuseppe Paleari (1783). The church of '' Madonna della Rosa'' takes its name ("Madonna of the Rose") from a fresco portraying the ''Virgin giving a Rose to the Child'', the work of a 15th-century Sienese master. Also from a Sienese artist is the ''Madonna delle Carceri'' (14th century). Today, the Terme section is considered among the finest health resorts in Italy with its parks, numerous hotels and especially its therapeutic water that is reputed to cleanse the liver via an increase in the production and excretion of liver bile. Among the more notable spas are Acqua Santa, Acqua Fucoli, Acqua Sillene, Acqua Santissima (which also advertises itself as a spa for those with respiratory problems), and Acqua Sant'Elena (which advertises that the calcic-alkaline bicarbonate in its water can treat kidney and urinary tract problems).

Museums

*The Chianciano Museum of Art is also an interesting attraction, with a large collection of contemporary and ancient art, including many pieces of historical interest. It has been praised by art journals and newspapers around the world, including the New York Times. * Museo della collegiata, (''Collegiata museum'') * Museo Civico Archeologico delle Acque

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Chianciano Terme is twinned with: *

Mariánské Lázně Mariánské Lázně (; ) is a spa town in Cheb District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 14,000 inhabitants. Most of the town's buildings come from its Golden Era in the second half of the 19th century, when many c ...

, Czech Republic

Demographic evolution

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Gallery

File:Chianciano Terme centro storico 800x600.jpg, The old town File:Panorama Chianciano 800x600.jpg, View File:Madonna della rosa.jpg, Chiesa della Madonna della Rosa (Chianciano Terme) File:Torre dell'Orologio Chianciano.jpg, The old tower File:Villa simoneschi.jpg, Villa Simoneschi

References

External links

Official website
* http://www.museoetrusco.it/ * http://www.museodarte.org/ {{authority control Cities and towns in Tuscany Spa towns in Italy Chianciano Terme