Local Ambassador Stories: Manuela Scaramuzzino, Medical Director of Terme di Chianciano

The Healing Water and the Regenerating Park

“Chianciano Terme’s Acqua Santa is a therapeutic water with ancient origins, already known in Etruscan times. More than just water, it is a cultural and identity symbol of this territory, characterized by an unusually pleasant taste for a thermal spring and by purifying properties that make it truly unique.”

Speaking is Dr. Manuela Scaramuzzino, Medical Director of Terme di Chianciano since 2022, and Local Ambassador in our series of interviews featuring voices that tell the story of places through the products that represent them.

The Terme di Chianciano are renowned for this extraordinary spring, whose water acts directly on the liver and biliary tracts, promoting a profound process of regeneration. “The salts contained in the water stimulate liver cells and cause a true ‘squeezing’ of the bile ducts, naturally and rapidly improving liver functions. It’s a treatment that works from the inside but can also be felt in one’s overall well-being.”

At the Parco Acqua Santa, visitors can follow a 12-day hydroponic treatment course, recognized by the Italian National Health Service, often combined with liver mud therapy for a complete therapeutic effect. “Drinking the water while simultaneously absorbing it through the skin allows for a combined action that amplifies its benefits.”

A graduate in Medicine and Surgery and lecturer in the Master’s in Thermal Medicine at the University of Pisa, Dr. Scaramuzzino speaks with expertise and dedication about a place that has always been synonymous with health and wellness. “It’s a unique water, both for its characteristics and for its pleasant taste — rare among thermal waters. Its palatability allows for wider use, even for those who wish to continue treatment at home, thanks to the bottling of the water.”

The Parco Acqua Santa: A Therapeutic Wonder

The Parco Acqua Santa, with its tree-lined avenues that even inspired Fellini in his masterpiece 8½, represents a space of physical and mental well-being where the care of the body meets the care of the spirit. “Fasting and resting in the park are not only therapeutic practices but experiences of regeneration: they stimulate the production of neurohormones that promote serenity and well-being.”

A Tradition of Study and Innovation

Chianciano boasts a long history of scientific research in the field of thermal medicine. “In the 1960s and 1970s, numerous clinical studies were carried out here on the properties of these waters. Today, we continue along that path with new investigations, without forgetting the roots of this tradition.”

In addition to Acqua Santa, Chianciano Terme offers an exceptional hydro-mineral heritage, with four main springs (Acqua Santa, Santissima, Fucoli, and Sillene) each with specific therapeutic properties. “It’s a unique basin of sulphate and saline waters at different temperatures. The Sillene spring, for example, is warm and feeds the Theia Thermal Pools, allowing for its use in balneotherapy.”

The Thermal Baths as the Soul of the Community

For Manuela Scaramuzzino, the Terme di Chianciano are not just a medical center but the heart of the community. “The thermal baths are the soul of the territory, an integral part of the town’s identity from both an urban and social perspective. Here, thermal wellness intertwines with the natural, cultural, and human landscape.” Chianciano thus represents a complete therapeutic opportunity: visitors can drink the water, bathe in it, perform inhalations, and continue treatment at home, thanks to the salts extracted from the water that, when combined with Acqua Santa, make it possible to recreate an authentic natural home therapy.

A Universal Message of Well-being

The historic motto “Chianciano, healthy liver”, used for decades to promote the destination, stems from the exceptional properties of these waters.“Other thermal centers offer similar treatments, but Chianciano was the first to achieve official recognition because its liver-healing effects are scientifically proven. I am always pleased to see patients arrive here and visibly improve their health in just a few days.”

The Local Ambassador’s Favorite Place

“I’m from Tuscany, but I had never visited Chianciano before my appointment. I knew it from the clinical studies I had come across in academia, but my first entry into the Parco Acqua Santa was love at first sight. It’s an extraordinary park. Our ancestors managed to translate the idea of healing of a ‘curative park’ into a physical space. Every tree and every corner here has a beneficial effect on those who experience it. My advice is always to visit these places, even if Acqua Santa can now reach your home.”