Bagni di Lucca

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Comune di Bagni di Lucca
Country	Italy
Region	Tuscany
Province	Lucca
Mayor	Antonio Contrucci
Elevation	150 m
Area	164.60 km²
Population
- Total (as of 2001)	6,551
- Density	40/km²
Time zone	CET, UTC+1
Coordinates	44°0′34 N°10′34
Gentilic	Bagnaioli
Dialing code	0583
Postal code	55022
Patron	Saint Peter and Saint Paul
- Day	29 June
Website: http://www.comunebagnidilucca.it/

Bagni di Lucca (Baths of Lucca, formerly Bagno a Corsena) is a commune of Tuscany, Italy, in the Province of Lucca with a population of 6,551.

In the village of Bagno Caldo there is a hospital constructed largely at the expense of Nicholas Demidoff in 1826. In the valley of the Serchio, 3 miles below Ponte a Serraglio, is the medieval Ponte del Diavolo (1322) with its lofty central arch.

[edit] Hot springs

The commune is known for its springs which are situated in the valley of the Lima River, a tributary of the Serchio River. The district is known in the early history of Lucca as the Vicaria di Val di Lima. Ponte Serraglio is the principal village of the warm spring area, but there are warm springs and baths also at Villa, Docce Bassi, and Bagno Caldo. The springs do not seem to have been known to the Romans. Bagno a Corsena is first mentioned in 1284 by Guidone de Corvaia, a Pisan historian (Muratori, R.I.S. vol. xxii.).

Fallopius, who gave the springs credit for the cure of his own deafness, sounded their praises in 1569; and they have been more or less in fashion since. The temperature of the water varies from 36–54°C (98–130°F). In all cases, the springs give off carbonic acid gas and contain lime, magnesium and sodium products.

[edit] References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.