A few kilometres from central Viterbo lies Bullicame, the most famous spring in the city's great thermal basin. Hot sulphurous water surfaces in the Viterbo countryside and has shaped the area's history for centuries, feeding thermal uses, farming and dedicated spa facilities.
The spring even made its way into Italian literature: Dante mentions Bullicame in the Inferno, using its hot streams as a comparison to describe the landscape of the seventh circle — a sign of how well-known the spring already was in the Middle Ages.
A spring within a thermal landscape
Bullicame shouldn't be pictured as a modern facility: its interest is above all historical, natural and scenic. The Municipality of Viterbo holds the mining concession for Bullicame and has included the area, together with the Piscine Carletti, in a wider project to enhance the thermal basin.
A stop to combine with Viterbo
Bullicame is easy to visit alongside Viterbo's historic centre or the city's other thermal areas (Piscine Carletti and Terme dei Papi). It's especially worthwhile for anyone wanting to understand why Viterbo has been linked to hot springs for so many centuries.
