In 1580 Alfonso II, Duke of Este, from the Mont’Alfonso Fortress descends to visit the ancient baths and orders some maintenance works which are then repeated about 100 years later by the population of Castelnuovo and in 1707 a visit by the Garfagnan naturalist Antonio Vallisneri enhances the spa and the properties of the water.
In the second post-war period, work began on the large drainage tunnel at the Enel plant in Torrite and on this occasion, thermal water was traced, but was abandoned inside the tunnel itself.
In the 1980s, the administration decided to carry out in-depth water analyzes and in 1982 a hydrogeological research indicated the bathroom area as an area where it is possible to find water for both the drinking water network and the thermal waters.
Finally, in the early 2000s, the archaeologist Paolo Notini found the side walls of a large walled terracotta pot, a material widely used by the ancient Romans, inside the cave of the baths. The same archaeologist pointed out that this discovery cannot be considered proof that it was the Romans who built the Torrite baths: in several countries, cocciopesto was continued and continues to be used in plumbing works of various kinds. However, it seems certain that the thermal waters of Bagni di Lucca and Equi Terme, countries located not far from ours, were already known and used at the time of republican Rome “.
He claims:
“Some scholars see thermalism as a stimulus for viability. Already the Romans, in tracing their ways, kept in mind the possibility of using thermal springs. And of course resting the tired limbs in a tub of warm water could represent an extraordinary relief for a traveler of antiquity! According to them, one can therefore think that the existence of thermal waters in various places in the Serchio valley (Bagni di Lucca, Gallicano, Pieve Fosciana and Torrite) facilitated the trafficking of merchants and pilgrims along the roads that led from Lombardy to Lucca ” .
(text taken from interviews with Andrea Giannasi)
