# The Origins of Thermal Cures in Casamicciola **At a glance:** Casamicciola owes its history to the hot water that rises from Ischia's volcanic subsoil. Used for healing since ancient times and documented from the Middle Ages, the town's springs, above all the Gurgitello, became famous across Europe thanks to the treatise by the physician Giulio Iasolino, published in Naples in 1588. ## Useful information - **Type:** History of spa culture - **Period:** Antiquity and early modern history - **Period:** From antiquity to the early modern age - **Places:** Casamicciola's springs and hydrothermal basins, especially the Gurgitello (Piazza Bagni) - **Key date:** 1588: publication of Giulio Iasolino's treatise - **Origin of the waters:** Heat from Ischia's volcanic system, now quiescent ## A town born of hot water Casamicciola's coat of arms shows a small stream of mineral water in which a woman is bathing her feet. She is the matron Nisola, a figure from a legend that derives the town's name from _Casa Nisola_ (Nisola's house): sick and abandoned here, she is said to have recovered her health thanks to its waters. It is only one of the theories about the origin of the name, but it captures the identity of a town that has always lived by its springs. ## Why the water is hot in Casamicciola Ischia is a volcanic island, made up of numerous volcanic edifices; the last eruption dates from 1302. The volcano is now quiescent, but the heat underground drives intense hydrothermal activity, with emissions of hot water and gas, and fumaroles that come close to 100 °C on Monte Cito. On the northern side of the island this heat has given rise to Casamicciola's hydrothermal basins: the [Gurgitello basin](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/thermal-spas/gurgitello-thermal-basin/), the [Cotto and Sinigallia basin](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/thermal-spas/cotto-and-sinigallia-thermal-basin/), the [La Rita basin](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/thermal-spas/la-rita-thermal-basin/) and the [Castiglione basin](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/thermal-spas/castiglione-thermal-basin/). To find out more about the geological origin of the waters, see [The Heat of the Earth](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/history/fumaroles-and-origins-of-the-thermal-waters/). ## From antiquity to the Middle Ages Scholars agree that thermal bathing was practised on Ischia from the arrival of the Greek settlers onwards. In Casamicciola the first reliable records of therapeutic use concern the [Gurgitello spring](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/thermal-spas/gurgitello-spring/), already in use in the Middle Ages: springs, baths and sweat rooms were frequented by the sick, often in simple, modest structures. ## The 16th century and Giulio Iasolino The turning point came in the 16th century, when a wide range of medical treatises began to describe the waters of Campania. The decisive contribution came from Giulio Iasolino, a Calabrian physician working in Naples, who from 1573 spent more than thirty years studying the island's springs, baths, sweat rooms and muds. His research was gathered in the treatise _De' rimedi naturali che sono nell'isola di Pithecusa, hoggi detta Ischia_ (On the natural remedies of the island of Pithecusa, now called Ischia), published in Naples in 1588 together with Mario Cartaro's celebrated map of the island. Iasolino paid special attention to the Gurgitello, which he recommended in particular for infertile women and those with stomach complaints. Before 1582 the noblewoman Geronima Colonna, together with the d'Avalos family and other Neapolitan nobles who had recovered their health here, promoted the restoration of the baths, funded and supervised by the Bishop of Ischia, Fabio Polverino: the result was a vaulted room with a few masonry tubs. ## From springs to organised care The Gurgitello's fame persuaded the governors of the newly founded Pio Monte della Misericordia in Naples to build baths and a hospice for the sick poor right here from 1604, choosing the site partly on Iasolino's advice: this is the beginning of the story told in [The Pio Monte and Thermal Care for the Poor](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/history/pio-monte-thermal-care-for-the-poor/). By the 18th century the Pio Monte baths included, besides the Gurgitello, the waters of the Denti and the [Capone](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/thermal-spas/stomaco-or-cappone-spring/). In the 19th century the study of the waters continued with physicians such as the Swiss Jacques Étienne Chevalley de Rivaz, who settled in Casamicciola from 1830. ## The springs today Many of the historic springs, from the Gurgitello to the [Occhio spring](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/thermal-spas/occhio-spring/), are still used by the town's spa establishments. Their story continues on the page devoted to the [history of the Gurgitello](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/history/history-of-the-gurgitello/). ## Frequently asked questions ### How long have thermal cures been taken in Casamicciola? Thermal bathing has been practised on Ischia since ancient times, and Casamicciola's Gurgitello spring was already in use in the Middle Ages. Its European fame came with Giulio Iasolino's treatise of 1588. ### Who was Giulio Iasolino? A Calabrian physician who, from 1573, spent more than thirty years studying Ischia's waters, sweat rooms and muds. His 1588 treatise De' rimedi naturali is regarded as the foundation of Ischia's spa tradition. ### Why are Casamicciola's waters hot? Ischia is a volcanic island: the heat underground drives intense hydrothermal activity. The volcano has been quiescent since its last eruption in 1302 and is constantly monitored. ### Who was the matron Nisola? She is the heroine of a legend about the origin of the name Casamicciola, from Casa Nisola: sick, she is said to have recovered her health thanks to the local waters. She appears on the Municipality's coat of arms. ## Also worth seeing - [Gurgitello Thermal Basin](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/thermal-spas/gurgitello-thermal-basin/) - [Cotto and Sinigallia Thermal Basin](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/thermal-spas/cotto-and-sinigallia-thermal-basin/) - [La Rita Thermal Basin](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/thermal-spas/la-rita-thermal-basin/) - [Castiglione Thermal Basin](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/thermal-spas/castiglione-thermal-basin/) - [Gurgitello Spring](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/thermal-spas/gurgitello-spring/) - [Stomaco or Cappone Spring](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/thermal-spas/stomaco-or-cappone-spring/) - [Occhio Spring](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/thermal-spas/occhio-spring/) - [History of the Gurgitello](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/history/history-of-the-gurgitello/) - [The Pio Monte and Thermal Care for the Poor](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/history/pio-monte-thermal-care-for-the-poor/) - [The Heat of the Earth: Fumaroles and Thermal Waters](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/history/fumaroles-and-origins-of-the-thermal-waters/) - [History of Casamicciola](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/history/) ## Sources and further reading - [M. Esposito, Il termalismo a Ischia in epoca moderna e l'Ospizio del Pio Monte della Misericordia di Casamicciola, Storia dell'Urbanistica, Speciale 3/2024](https://edizionicaracol.it/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/6.-ESPOSITO.pdf) - [F. Capano, Il terremoto di Casamicciola del 1883: norme antisismiche e cupole tra storia e struttura, 'Ananke 91, 2020](https://www.iris.unina.it/retrieve/e268a733-c812-4c8f-e053-1705fe0a812c/4_ART_CA_2020_CapanoF_CasamicciolaTerremoto_'ANANKE91.pdf) - [Dipartimento della Protezione Civile – Ischia](https://www.protezionecivile.gov.it/it/approfondimento/ischia/) - [Wikipedia – Casamicciola Terme](https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casamicciola_Terme) - [Wikipedia (en) – Jacques Etienne Chevalley de Rivaz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Etienne_Chevalley_de_Rivaz)