What is Acqui Terme known for?

Sulphurous spring rising at 74.5 degrees in the central piazza, the same waters that drew the Romans to Aquae Statiellae. Fifteen pillars and four arches across the Bormida, one of the best preserved imperial aqueducts in northern Italy. Brachetto d'Acqui DOCG, a sparkling red dessert wine produced from at least 97% Brachetto grapes on the surrounding Monferrato hills.

When is the best time to visit Acqui Terme?

All year. Acqui Terme runs on a thermal calendar, which means almost no closed season. The spa hotels operate through the cold months and the baths fill more reliably in November than in August. April through June is the gentle window: green Monferrato hills, mild evenings, the Bollente piazza busy without the August press. July and August touch the mid-thirties and the centro storico thins after lunch. September and October are the harvest months, when the surrounding cantine open for Brachetto and the truffle stalls appear in the markets. Winter is quiet but functional: the thermal trade keeps the town awake, the cathedral stays cool, and the Bollente steams visibly in cold air.

Where is Acqui Terme?

Acqui Terme is a comune in the province of Alessandria, Piedmont region of Italy, about 73 kilometers from Genova.

How do I get to Acqui Terme?

From Genova, Acqui Terme is roughly 73 km by road.

Piedmont · Alessandria

Acqui Terme

A Roman spa town on the Bormida, where a sulphurous spring still surfaces at 74.5 degrees under an 1870 pavilion.

Known for

LA BOLLENTE
Sulphurous spring rising at 74.5 degrees in the central piazza, the same waters that drew the Romans to Aquae Statiellae.
ROMAN AQUEDUCT
Fifteen pillars and four arches across the Bormida, one of the best preserved imperial aqueducts in northern Italy.
BRACHETTO
Brachetto d'Acqui DOCG, a sparkling red dessert wine produced from at least 97% Brachetto grapes on the surrounding Monferrato hills.

When to visit

Best · All year

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

The festa: Guido d'Acqui, seconda domenica di luglio

Why come

Acqui Terme sits on the Bormida, fifty kilometers north of Genova in the southern Monferrato hills. The Romans founded it as Aquae Statiellae in the second century BC, around hot sulphur springs Pliny the Elder rated among the best in the empire. The aqueduct they built to feed the baths still stands: fifteen pillars and four arches across the Bormida valley, one of the best preserved in northern Italy.

At the center of the old town, the Bollente spring still pushes water to the surface at 74. 5 degrees Celsius, under a small octagonal pavilion Giovanni Ceruti designed in 1870. The Romanesque cathedral was consecrated in 1067.

The surrounding hills produce Brachetto d'Acqui DOCG, a low-alcohol sparkling red made from at least 97% Brachetto grapes. The town carries three signals at once: Spighe Verdi, Comuni Termali, Città del Vino. The thermal trade runs year-round; the wine and the hills set the pace for everything else.

The Sunday letter

We haven’t written Acqui Terme’s letter yet.

One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.

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What to see

Acquedotto Romano
Imperial-era aqueduct, fifteen pillars and four arches across the Bormida valley, originally carrying water 13 km from the Erro stream.
La Bollente
Octagonal marble pavilion designed by Giovanni Ceruti in 1870, covering the sulphurous spring that surfaces at 74.5 degrees in the central piazza.
Duomo di Santa Maria Assunta
Romanesque cathedral consecrated in 1067 by Bishop Guido, built on the Latin cross plan over an earlier 10th-century church.
Castello dei Paleologi
Late medieval castle of the Marquises of Monferrato above the centro storico, now housing the archaeological museum.
Museo Archeologico
Civic archaeological collection inside the Castello dei Paleologi, with finds from the Roman baths, theatre and amphitheatre of Aquae Statiellae.

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Living here

Population 18,967
In-betweeni
Pharmacy in town
High school within a 30-minute drive
Train station in the comune
Nearest airport Genoa, 1 h 3 min drive
Regional capital Torino, 1 h 39 min drive

Thermal baths in town: Stabilimento Curativo Nuove Terme.

Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

Recognised as

The numbers

Elevation: 156 m
Population: 18,967
Surface area: 33.3 km²

On the map

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These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

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