Acqui Terme

Elegant Spa and Health Resort

The thermal spring that gave this elegant spa and health and beauty resort its name gushes hot water and steam all year round.

Acqui Terme

Canelli

Monferrato Hills

Nizza Monferrato

Rocchetta Tanero

Santa Stefano Belbo

Day trips

Bergamo

Genoa - old port

Lake Maggiore

Lake Orta

Mondovi

Portofino peninsula

Turin

Riviera of Palms

More information?

If you would like more information about Acqui Terme please call me on:-

0039 0141 851154

or send me an email.

If you would like us to keep in touch, please fill in and send us the form on the Registration page.

We look forward to hearing from you.

© Kerrie Barker 2006

The small, sedate spa town and health resort of Acqui Terme is only 8 miles from Wisteria Cottage.

Strolling through Acqui's compact, pedestrianised centre is a pleasure. The shops display a wealth of branded fashion goods and accessories, and the cafes are elegant.

Quaint narrow streets lead up through the old town to the duomo (cathedral) and you will find an excellent selection of restaurants in this area.

The highlight is the thermal spring which gave the town its name, presented architecturally with great style, and impressively gushing water and steam all the year round. 

Bollente The town's history is so tied-up with the thermal springs that they have built a kind of shrine to it	Bollente This spring discharges 540 litres of water per minute at a temperature of 75 degrees
Elegance Acqui has the genteel ambience of Spa towns everywhere	Solar technology An early example - you can check it against the duomo clock. Works best in sunshine (ie most of the year)
Cappuccino .....or espresso ? Take a table at an attractive cafe in one of the stylish arcades and watch the world go by.	Fountain A spectacular staircase set of by colourful rose beds runs down to the Piazza d'Italia
Duomo The cathedral was consecrated to San Guido in 1067.	Retail district Acqui has an attractive and compact pedestrianised shopping area
Swimming pool Apart from its Spa Waters, Acqui also has a large, attractive public swimming pool	River Bormida The river runs through one of the main valleys in Monferrato and ultimately into the River Po, Italy's longest river
Roman aqueduct These spans are some of the most complete complete remains of Roman water engineering in Italy	Fountain One of the welcoming fountains located at the town boundaries

Health and beauty Spa

For details of Acqui Terme's spa facilities please follow the link.

Festa of Festas

During the second weekend in September, Acqui hosts a gastronomic extravaganza with catering stalls from 20 surrounding communes vying with each other to entice you to eat their chosen dish of the day, whilst in the enoteca, a wide range of locally produced wines are offered for tasting.

Practicalities

The largest free central car park is behind the buildings fronting the Corsa Roma.  

The tourist information office is well-signposted from the piazza behind the bollente thermal spring. As Acqui is in Alessandria province, it stocks a separate range of literature to the offices in Asti province.

There is a lot going on in Acqui during the summer - concerts, exhibitions and of course festas celebrating food and wine, and the office will be delighted to give you a programme of events.

Acqui has an Archaeological Museum where you can find out about its Roman past and see other artefacts.

Acqui is also an excellent rail-head for passenger trains to Genoa, with a regular direct service climbing through the Ligurian mountains to reach the coast beyond.

Scenic vineyard drive

To return to Wisteria Cottage by a circular route, take the very scenic drive to Nizza Monferrato, with vineyards extending to the horizon in all directions (11 miles).

Along this road a short diversion up the hill into the centre of the village of Alice bel Colle will be rewarded by the panoramic view from the top of the belvedere (viewing platform) recently built on the site of the old castle.

From Nizza, head back along the Belbo Valley to Calamandrana. At the roundabout after the village, turn left and climb up towards the hilltop village of Rochetta Palafea, with its delightful piazza, medieval tower and a small cafe, and then follow the signs to return the final couple of miles to Sessame.