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In the heart of the Bormida Valley, amongst the hills of the Alto Monferrato, lies this small “tropical oasis”. The symbol of this little town is a marble fountain called “La Bollente” (meaning “the boiling spring”), from water flows water at a temperature of up to 75 degrees. Legend has it that newborn babies were brought to the fountain and immersed for a few seconds. The survivors were called “sgaientò” (meaning “scalded”), the traditional nickname for inhabitants of Acqui. Well known and much frequented since the second century, the old centre of Acqui Terme continues to be a reference point for all those interested in spa treatments. The thermal waters of the Lago delle antiche Terme and the Fontanino dell’Acqua Marcia are of high therapeutic value for those suffering from rheumatism, arthritis and gout.
For the more athletic, Acqui provides swimming pools, gyms and tennis courts. Also available are face and body beauty treatments at a number of modern beauty centres. Acqui Terme offers visitors a weekend of peace and wellbeing in the heart of the Monferrato.

One local legend tells how the newly-born children of Acqui were taken to the spring of the Bollente to be immersed for a second – whoever survived was nick-named “Sgaiento”, which means “scorched”. Known and used since Roman times, the Bollente spring is still today the most widely used spring in Acqui’s thermal spas. Acqui, however, doesn’t just mean well-being. The city is also a place where wine and gastronomic traditions from lower Piedmont and the Ligurian Apennines meet. The result is cooking that puts chocolate and first courses of ragu along side focaccia and stoccafisso with olives; but, above all, you can enjoy the celebrated wines from grapes cultivated from the surrounding hills: Acqui’s brachetto and dolcetto and Alto Monferrato’s cortese. An exhibition of the best bottles of local wine products can be found in the cantinas of the ancient Palazzo Robellini, the seat of the Enoteca Regionale.

Acqui Terme sorge, in Provincia di Alessandria, nella zona sud-orientale dell'alto Monferrato sulla sponda sinistra del fiume Bormida, da cui, dopo la confluenza dei due rami dello Spigno e del Millesimo, si apre la strada verso la pianura di Alessandria, tra colline dolcemente ondulate. La città si trova 45 km a Sud di Asti, , a 75 km da Genova, 115 km da Torino, a 125 km da Milano. Sorge in una posizione strategica all'incrocio di alcune strade importanti: la statale del Turchino che va da Asti a Nizza Monferrato, Ovada e Voltri e quella della Val Bormida che da Alessandria porta fino a Savona, attraverso il Colle di Cadibona; infine quella del Sassello, da Acqui a Varazze e Savona per il Colle del Giovo, un percorso panoramico ma ricco di curve.

Da Genova: casello autostradale Ovada (A26) a 20 km; da Torino: casello Alessandria Sud (A26) a km 30; da Milano: A7 direzione Tortona, A26 casello Alessandria Est (A21) a km 40

 P.za V. Veneto - P.za Italia, tel. +39.0144. 320.040 / 280

La stazione ferroviaria è in P.za V. Veneto a pochissimi passi dal centro storico (tel. +39.0144.322.583, servizio FS informa 892. 021, www.trenitalia.com)

Capolinea Arfea (tel. +39. 0131.445.433) in P.za V. Veneto  delle linee per Asti, Alessandria, Torino e Milano. Gelosobus Centro Prenotazioni C.so Viganò 9, tel. +39.0144.567.61, www.gelosobus.it

Linea urbana autobus: Arfea

last update: 21/09/2009