Ancient thermalism in the northern Adriatic

A dialogue with a recent study by Maddalena Bassani

Rachele Dubbini

Abstract | Italian full Version

Thermalism is a complex phenomenon in the ancient world in which therapeutic practices, architecture, and territorial organisation are intertwined, reflecting the central role of water in therapeutic, cultural, and more generally, economic and social contexts. Therefore, it is not surprising that the bibliography on the subject has grown considerably in recent years, as highlighted in this volume (see Bassani 2025, 1–14; cf. Nocca 2025). Maddalena Bassani’s research in the field has long emerged with the aim of interpreting thermal contexts as structuring elements for both the landscape and settlement dynamics in Roman Italy. Last year, Bassani contributed to this body of work with a new monograph entitled Adriatico salutifero. Archeologia del termalismo al Fons Timavi e al Fons Aponi (The salutary Adriatic. Archaeology of thermalism at Fons Timavi and Fons Aponi), published by “L’Erma” di Bretschneider for the ΑΔΡΙΑΣ series, whose editor I am.

A detailed study of the upper Adriatic was crucial to understand a significant phenomenon in the development of myths and cults that have characterised this area since its earliest phases of human occupation, which were greatly influenced by the Greek and Mycenaean presence (Braccesi 2001; Čače and Tassaux 2006; Capuis 2024, 384–385). As is well known, natural features perceived as extraordinary, such as trees, rocks, caves, springs with unique properties, forests, and so on, are catalysts for ritual activities, since they are all seen as signs of a supernatural or divine presence (Lafond, Michel 2016). The presence of one or more water sources is particularly crucial among all these elements, not only as a privileged locus of superhuman power (Servius’ comment ad Aen. VII, 84, which states that no spring is not sacred), but also since water is related to the various functions it can have within a sacred space (Edlund-Berry, 2024, 638; Klingborg, 2025). Myth therefore helps to give a name to this presence and reveals how territories were used and frequented, even in ancient times. For this reason, Chapter IV retraces the mythological stratigraphy connected with the mineral thermal resources of the ancient Mediterranean as an essential step in the understanding of the relationship between thermalism and the evolution of mythical traditions in the northern Adriatic. In the Timavo area, Diomedes, Hera, and Artemis are central figures in spreading Greek culture and testifying to the health benefits of the springs for both human and animal care. They also played a role in various activities, such as washing fabrics and fibres, lighting, sanitising, and dyeing fibres. In the Aponense area, Antenor, Geryon and Heracles played a similar role. Researching thermal mineral waters as hybrid spaces where nature, superhuman entities, humans, and animals interact in sacred, therapeutic, and economic activities provides insight into some of the most significant aspects of human existence, not only in ancient times. This allows us to explore the Adriatic territories from a novel perspective.

The decision to conduct research in the Euganean area is motivated by the opportunity to study the ongoing exploitation of thermal mineral resources from prehistory to the present day (Selmin et al., 2009). Bassani’s work, therefore, begins with a re-examination of the written sources and archaeological documents relating to the Fons Timavi and the Fons Aponi. These should be considered as multiple sources of thermal mineral water, providing insight into the potential of local thermalism and the use of the springs as early as the 8th–7th century BC. This use was not limited to therapeutic purposes, but also included economic and productive activities. This can be encompassed within the Greek traditions of the Upper Adriatic area, which highlight the importance of animal husbandry, particularly horses, which were healed through therapeutic baths at the thermal mineral springs. It is perhaps not necessary to emphasise the central role of Diomedes (Braccesi 2001, 39–43) as a mediator between the different cultures that crossed paths at these commercial hubs. However, as far as this cultural context is concerned, it is also important to acknowledge the function of the Altino sanctuary as a hub for the inland lagoon route that connected the Po delta with the Timavo spring. This promoted activities conducive to hippotrophia (Tirelli 2020 highlights the sanctuary’s dual purpose in relation to the export and trade of horses). Similarly, it is now widely accepted that several sanctuaries in central Italy served as places of exchange and encounter for different Mediterranean cultures during the Orientalizing period, thus facilitating the creation of long-range trade networks (Bolder-Boos 2016; Michetti 2020; Krämer 2023; Chankowski 2025). The same was true of the Adriatic^[1], where the presence of health-giving elements would have attracted ‘foreigners’, further strengthening these economic circuits. In this cosmopolitan context, the cult in Timavo was quickly Hellenised, and the same occurred at the Euganean springs alongside the deity Aponus. Here, the figures of Geryon and Hercules also appeared^[2]. In both cases, it was precisely the multifunctionality of the thermal mineral springs, especially with regard to livestock breeding, that enabled these centres to evolve over the centuries as ‘activators’ of the nearest maritime port hubs. This led to the proliferation of increasingly complex settlements and, following the Romanisation of the area between the end of the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, to the development of a sophisticated thermal and health tourism industry, enhanced by Roman technology and the improvement of knowledge in medicine and architectural engineering. This is evidenced in literary sources and archaeological findings. It led, besides, to the development of a well-structured thermal and health tourism industry, enhanced by Roman technology and the refinement of medical and architectural engineering knowledge, as evidenced by literary sources and archaeological findings until the end of the imperial age (Bassani 2025, 80–81).

The volume’s distinctive feature is its integrated approach to the subject matter. The archaeological interpretation is extensively supported by archival sources, combining written and material information with manuscript sources to reconstruct the analysed contexts as thoroughly as possible. The second part of the book presents a series of reflections and comments on an unpublished, incomplete manuscript by Giovanni Lavagnoli (1773) on the antiquities of the thermal mineral springs in the Euganean area. A summary of this text can be found in Appendix 1 of the volume. Moreover, Appendix 2 presents Zanetti’s complete, unpublished memoir on the statue of the so-called dignitary from Montegrotto Terme. Lavagnoli’s writings are particularly valuable because they give details on several discoveries that have not yet been considered in relation to the study of the Euganean territory, including a series of ex-votos found in the now-disappeared Lake S. Pietro Montagnon – a hydraulic infrastructure brought to light during excavations at the time – and inscriptions relating to the use of the Fons Aponi and its cult. Perhaps most notably, they detail the representation of the bearded god, leaning against a pillar with an overturned vase, known as the ‘dignitary’ (Bassani 2025, 143–169). The overturned vase is a common attribute in depictions of nymphs, personifications of rivers, and water deities. The comparison with the statuette of the water deity from the nymphaeum of Collazzone also supports identification with the god Aponus (Bassani 2025, 160–165), despite the unusual standing position compared to the usual reclining position of such deities [3]. While we cannot rule out the possibility that the dignitary was holding a rhyton or a marsh reed in his left hand, the statue’s unusual position and the absence of water spilling from the overturned vase, or at least the god’s hand gesturing towards the vase’s mouth as a symbolic representation of the gushing spring, cast doubt on the proposed attribution^[4].

All in all, however, Maddalena Bassani’s work is far from complete, as suggested by the title, which refers to the first volume of an ongoing research project. The aim is to further develop themes related to the exploitation of thermal mineral resources for productive purposes, defining the contexts examined within a broader framework of pilgrim mobility and commercial transport in relation to accommodation facilities and existing productive activities. The scope will be extended to the southern and eastern Adriatic. In this context, it is particularly interesting to explore those ancient historical phases in which the economic and managerial complexity of the imperial system had not yet been established or had already entered a period of crisis. In short, we need to consider “before and after the Romans” in order to piece together the economic and social history of a Salutipherus Adriatic that remains largely unexplored.

Notes

[1] See, for example, the case of the sanctuary of Cupra in Piceno, in Demma, Casci Ceccacci 2020.
[2] Greek literary sources do not seem to know the precise name of the patron deity of the springs – assuming it had a name (Bassani 2025, 53).
[3] On the canons of a type of river deity, established in the late Hellenistic period and widespread in the imperial era, see Klementa 1993.
[4] Klementa 1993 and, most recently, the comparison with the personification of the river Almone in De Cristofaro 2025.

References

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Abstract

Thermalism in antiquity constituted a complex cultural system in which therapeutic practices, architectural forms, cult activities, and territorial organization were structurally intertwined, reflecting the centrality of water in religious, economic, and social life. Focusing on the Northern Adriatic, this article investigates thermo-mineral springs as active agents in landscape formation and settlement dynamics, engaging in critical dialogue with Maddalena Bassani’s recent study, which places particular emphasis on the Fons Timavi and the Fons Aponi. Through an integrated analysis of archaeological data, literary testimonies, mythological traditions, and previously unpublished archival materials, the study reconstructs long-term patterns in the exploitation and conceptualization of thermal waters from protohistory to the Roman period. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of mythopoetic narratives in shaping cult practices and framing the perceived salutary efficacy of springs, as well as on the multifunctional character of thermal sites, which operated simultaneously as therapeutic, ritual, and productive spaces. This interpretive framework advances a renewed perspective on the cultural and socio-economic history of the Northern Adriatic, viewing thermo-mineral contexts as hybrid nodes where natural resources, divine agency, human communities, and economic activities converged.

keywords | Ancient thermalism; Upper Adriatic; Thermo-mineral springs; Cult and mythology; Landscape and settlement dynamics.

Per citare questo articolo / To cite this article: Rachele Dubbini, Ancient thermalism in the northern Adriatic. A dialogue with a recent study by Maddalena Bassani, “La Rivista di Engramma” n. 231, gennaio/febbraio 2026.