♨️ The Bullicame: Where Viterbo Has Boiled with Life for Millennia

Giano di Vico
Jun 23
2 min read

Just beyond the city walls of Viterbo,there is a place where the earth breathes.A warm, sulfurous breath—as ancient as time itself.

Welcome to the Bullicame:not a spa resort, not a designer pool,but a living heart that has pulsed beneath the Tuscia for centuries.

🏺 A Bit of History: The Bullicame of Popes and Pilgrims

The waters of the Bullicame were known as far back as Roman times.Tacitus and Pliny the Elder praised their healing properties—soothing wounds, arthritis, and rheumatic pain.

But it was during the Middle Ages that the Bullicame became legendary.

The popes who resided in Viterbo used it as a source of health and restoration.Pilgrims, knights, merchants, and soldiers stopped here along the Via Francigena,bathing before continuing their journey.

Even Dante Alighieri, in the Divine Comedy, refers to it—comparing the fiery infernal heat to that which gushes "from the Bulicame".

🌋 A Living Natural Wonder

The Bullicame is not a simple "pool".It is a sleeping volcano that whispers.

From the central crater, enclosed by a safety gate,over 150 liters of thermal water per second gush out,at a temperature of about 58°C (136°F).

The water flows along a natural canal, cooling as it travels,eventually forming smaller pools where locals have bathed freely for generations.

No schedules.No tickets.No formalities.

Just water, sky, and stone.

🔥 Little-Known Curiosities

The name “Bullicame” comes from the Latin bullire — "to boil":the ground truly seems to bubble, thanks to underground geothermal activity.
Historically, the natural pools were used as "purification baths" for travelers before entering the city.
Medieval records mention miraculous healings in the waters of the Bullicame, attributing healing powers to its vapors.
Over the centuries, many thermal spas and facilities have sprung up around the main spring—but the Bullicame remains the primordial heart of Viterbo’s thermal soul.

✨ Why Should You Visit Today?

Because bathing in the Bullicame is not just a dip.It’s stepping into a legend.It’s feeling the memory of the ancients on your skin.It’s rediscovering, among vapors and silence, a slower rhythm—where nature still sets the pace of life.