First of all, the water from the Santa Lucia area, where the Canalette spring rises. These waters are classified as sulfuric-alkaline, emerging at a temperature of around 24°C. They are considered curative for eye infections (the reference to the saint who protects vision is no coincidence) and skin ailments. The Canalette spring was known (or rather, it was during the medieval and modern eras) as the waters of the Bagno Santo (Holy Bath): they belong to the sulfuric-alkaline waters that flow at approximately 24°C, believed to be healing for eye and skin infections, and feed a pool with a continuous water exchange. A strange fate: almost “degraded” to mere recreational ponds, these waters once had a great medical reputation. However, their benefits are still worth seeking! Sarteano is rich in springs. The water can be found in large basins at Fontevetriana (a toponym indicative of its significance, especially for past travelers) and in a spring next to the Pietraporciana refuge. The waters flow towards the valley, emerging between the fields. And at Casa Bebi, at the foot of Mount Cetona, the Orcia River is born. The water is hidden but also flows beneath the town, touching the houses in a network of tunnels. Even the current library was created within the old washhouses, which were once water collection points that had been channeled, marking the area outside the walls of Sarteano.
The origin of the Orcia River and one of the pools fed by the Canalette spring.
