Bagni Vecchi di Bormio

The Bagni Vecchi complex rises above the Bormio basin in the municipality of Valdidentro. Buildings, rock-cut passages and thermal springs form a layered architectural landscape shaped by centuries of rebuilding.

Why it matters

The springs belong to the area's long thermal history and were noted by Leonardo da Vinci. The complex combines communal traditions of managing the waters with later developments in hotel and bathing architecture.

What to notice

The buildings occupy different levels of the slope, with parts cut into the rock. The small church of San Martino has a single apse and sixteenth-century frescoes. The paired basins known as the Roman baths are supplied by water flowing from the rock. A nineteenth-century tunnel and the early-twentieth-century Sala Conversazione add contrasting architectural phases.

Context and history

Medieval and later records document management and adaptation of the springs. The name Bagni Vecchi distinguished the older establishment after the development of the Bagni Nuovi in the 1830s. Further restoration and hotel construction continued into the twentieth century.