Acqui Terme

Acqui Terme (Äich in Piedmontese) is a city and comune of Piedmont, northern Italy, in the province of Alessandria. It is about 35 kilometres (22 mi) south-southwest of Alessandria. It is one of the principle winemaking communes of the Italian DOCG wine Brachetto d'Acqui.

The hot sulphur springs have been famous since this was the Roman town of Aquae Statiellae; the ancient baths are referred to by Paulus Diaconus and the chronicler Liutprand of Cremona. In 1870 Giovanni Ceruti designed a little pavilion, known as La Bollente, for the spot at the centre of the town where the waters bubble up at 75 °C (167 °F).

History

In the Roman period the place was connected by road with Alba Pompeia and Augusta Taurinorum (Turin). The local Ligurian tribe of the Statielli had joined the Romans at an early period, but were attacked in 173 BCE and some were transferred to the north of the Po. In the neighbourhood of the town, near the river Bormida, are the remains of the aqueduct which supplied it.