Fiuggi

In the chestnut woods of the Ernici hills an hour from Rome, Fiuggi divides between a medieval borgo on its hilltop and a spa town at the springs below, famed since Pope Boniface VIII for water that dissolves kidney stones. It is Lazio’s classic cure-and-stroll destination, with wellness, walking and golf in cool mountain air.

Why visit

Fiuggi offers what few hill towns can: a genuine reason to linger in the shape of one of Europe’s oldest and most important thermal spa stations. Its oligomineral water, rising cold from volcanic-filtered rock, has drawn sufferers and celebrities for seven centuries — the Pope whose kidney stones it famously cured gave his name to the main spring, and Michelangelo praised it with a mason’s wit. Around the cure lies a complete small town: a fortified medieval borgo with stone houses and Giotto-school frescoes, chestnut forests laced with trails, one of central Italy’s historic golf courses, and the green crater lake of Canterno nearby. For travellers worn out by Rome’s art marathon, Fiuggi is the antidote.

Character and history

The town began as Anticoli di Campagna, a fortified hill settlement with pre-Roman roots, and took its modern name from the early twentieth century in honour of its water. Fame arrived in the fourteenth century, when Boniface VIII credited the springs with curing his stones; two centuries later Michelangelo pronounced it the remedy for “the only kind of stone I couldn’t love.” The water, an oligomineral cold source emerging at about 12.4 degrees after filtering through the volcanic deposits of the Ernici, was bottled and shipped to European royalty, and the Acqua Fiuggi brand now looks back on a century of advertising history. Two centres grew from this fortune: Fiuggi Alto, the medieval borgo at around 760 metres, and Fiuggi Terme at the hill’s base, where the spa quarter and grand hotels gathered in the new century. Modern Fiuggi remains a serious resort — after Rome, the town claims more tourist beds than any other city in Lazio — and hosted EU foreign ministers in late 2024.

What to see

The waters themselves are the monuments: the Fonte Bonifacio VIII, the historic liberty-style drinking establishment named for the pope, and the Fonte Anticolana, the second great spring where cure-takers stroll between glasses of water under the chestnuts. Above them, the Borgo medievale di Fiuggi (Fiuggi Alto) rewards a slow loop through alleys and stone fronts, entering by the old Porta della Portella. The borgo’s churches layer art on devotion: the Collegiata di San Pietro Apostolo as the principal church, the Chiesa di Santo Stefano Protomartire with its Giotto-school frescoes, the Chiesa di Santa Maria del Colle, the Chiesa di San Biagio, the early Santa Maria delle Tre Cone and, in the modern town, the spacious Chiesa Regina Pacis. The Palazzo Falconi carries the legend that Napoleon once slept there, and the former Grand Hotel now lives on as the Teatro Comunale. Above town, the Cappella dei Cappuccini and the hilltop Monumento alla Madonna on Colle Michelangelo frame the views, while southwards the Riserva Naturale del Lago di Canterno protects a karst lake ringed by birdlife.

How to experience

Take the cure seriously for a morning: the traditional ritual is walking slowly between the two fonti, drinking glasses of water prescribed by the spa physicians — a social scene in itself during the season. Then split your time between the two towns: the borgo for lanes, frescoes and viewpoint benches; Terme for spa treatments, the theatre and café terraces. The surrounding woods are made for movement — the municipality’s Fiuggi Experience programme runs free guided trekking and e-bike outings, and the Golf Club Fiuggi has played among the chestnuts since 1928. In winter, the old ski slopes of Campocatino lie within reach. Book spa treatments and check cure-season dates in advance; the drinking fountains’ schedules differ from the spa’s.

Practical planning

Two or three nights suit a wellness stay; a day trip covers the borgo and one spring. Summer brings Italian families and cool evenings, spring and autumn the best walking weather — the elevation keeps Fiuggi noticeably cooler than Rome. The town lies off the A1 motorway near Anagni-Fiuggi Terme, with a rail link on that line into Rome in about an hour. Confirm spring and spa opening periods on fiuggiturismo.com, and reserve the Canterno reserve walks through local guides if birdwatching is the aim. Pack layers for mountain evenings, and swimsuit and robe for the spas.

Nearby places

The papal city of Anagni, with its frescoed cathedral crypt, is the nearest cultural sight and an easy half-day; provincial capital Frosinone lies below in the plain; and to the southeast the abbey mountain of Cassino makes the region’s great historical excursion.