Laghetto della Costa, Bronze Age lake settlement in Arquà Petrarca, Italy
Laghetto della Costa is a small thermal lake in Arquà Petrarca where hot springs keep the water warm throughout the year. Archaeological remains from the Bronze Age settlement lie preserved beneath its surface, making it both a geological and historical site.
People settled here between 2200 and 1400 BCE, building structures with wooden beams to stabilize the damp ground beside the thermal lake. The settlement remained hidden beneath water and sediment until modern archaeology revealed its Bronze Age origins.
The site draws visitors interested in understanding how prehistoric communities adapted to this environment and organized their settlements around natural thermal features. Today it serves as a window into how people lived in close relationship with water and geological conditions thousands of years ago.
The lake can be reached on foot from Arquà Petrarca and is accessible year-round. Visitors should wear comfortable walking shoes as paths around the site are uneven, and it helps to have a guide or information about the archaeological context to appreciate what you are seeing.
The mixing of hot and cold water sources creates a temperature balance that keeps the lake from freezing even in harsh winters. This natural feature likely made the location valuable to ancient settlers who needed year-round access to open water.
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