Chianciano Terme
Chianciano Terme is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Siena in the Italian region Tuscany, located about southeast of Florence and about southeast of Siena. It is located between the Valdichiana and the Val d'Orcia. Chianciano Terme borders the following municipalities: Chiusi, Montepulciano, Pienza, Sarteano. History Chianciano Terme history dates back to the 5th century BC, when the Etruscans built a temple dedicated to the god of Good Health, close to the Silene springs where the newer quarter of Chianciano (the Terme section) stands today. News of the curative power of Chianciano's water became well known during Roman times, as Horace visited the area on the advice of his physician during the 1st century BC. Luxurious Roman villas were built in the area near the thermal baths. In 1993 bathhouse columns and an enormous tile-paved swimming pool have been excavated as part of a major spa complex unlike anything else ever found in the Siena region and one of the largest in Italy, and consistent with Horace's description. There is little archaeological evidence of much activity during the Middle Ages, but, by the 12th and 13th centuries, Chianciano belonged to the Manenti Counts, Lords of Sarteano. Its position close