La scoperta dell’acqua fredda. The Roman Thermal Baths of Mezzomiglio in Chianciano terme between old excavations and new data

In the territory of the modern municipality of Chianciano Terme, archaeological excavations carried out between 1995 and 2006 under the direction of Prof. D. Soren (University of Arizona) in the locality of Mezzomiglio, have brought to light and reconstructed an articulated complex of thermal structures from the Roman period, characterised in particular by a large quadrangular basin, the so-called vasca, bordered on all four sides by columned corridors. This vasca, fed by a spring of cold water (15°C) that gushes out near the structure, was almost certainly used for cures based precisely on baths in water at low temperatures, which were particularly popular, according to literary sources, in the Augustan period and until the 2nd century AD. Starting from the results obtained by the research team of the University of Arizona, the paper aims to present the first data that emerged from new investigations carried out by Università per Stranieri di Siena as part of a research project intended to reconstruct the Roman site in greater detail and depth to include it in a new tourist-cultural perspective for the Chianciano territory.