Cascate del Mulino, Natural thermal pools in Manciano, Italy.
Cascate del Mulino is a series of natural pools in Manciano, Italy, arranged in terraces down a slope. The sulfurous thermal water fills these basins day and night and maintains a stable warmth of around 37 degrees Celsius (99 degrees Fahrenheit).
The thermal springs have flowed from the ground for more than two millennia and already supplied the Roman settlement of Saturnia with water. In the Middle Ages, a mill used the warm water for power, giving the site its current name.
The name comes from a mill that once used the warm water; the building beside the pools is its surviving structure, with a small roof vent above the doorway. Bathers move between the terraced basins at different depths, and the site is free and open at any hour, so people arrive early or after dark.
The pools lie just off the Strada Provinciale 10 near the Terme di Saturnia golf course, with a gravel parking area a short walk from the water. The stone basins are uneven and slippery underfoot, so water shoes help. There are no changing rooms or lifeguards; bathers leave towels on the rocks and the small bar nearby serves drinks and snacks.
Mineral deposits from the water have formed white travertine formations that descend the hill like a geological staircase. Each pool has a slightly different depth and size, causing the temperature and flow to vary.
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