Antiche Terme Manzi

Where it is

The Antiche Terme Manzi (the “old Manzi baths”) are at Piazza Bagni di Gurgitello 4, in the heart of Piazza Bagni, the quarter that for centuries was the centre of spa life in Casamicciola Terme. The establishment stands in the Gurgitello hydrothermal basin, a short walk from the Antiche Terme Belliazzi, and has historically used the hot waters of this basin.

History

The establishment dates from 1863, when Luigi Manzi had a spa complex built around the Gurgitello waters, at a time when Casamicciola was becoming one of the most popular spa resorts in Europe. The Terme Manzi joined the Bourbon establishment and the baths of the old hospice of the Pio Monte della Misericordia, helping to make Piazza Bagni a true quarter of healing.

Garibaldi in Casamicciola

The name of the Terme Manzi is linked above all to Giuseppe Garibaldi. The general arrived on Ischia on 19 June 1864 aboard the Duke of Sutherland's yacht, accompanied by his sons Menotti and Ricciotti and his doctors, to treat the wound he had received at Aspromonte. He made his way to Casamicciola and took lodgings at Villa Manzi, in the Piazza dei Bagni district, next to the baths of the same name.

The spa physician Antonio Mennella recommended the Gurgitello waters; the general's doctors preferred to begin with the gentler waters of the Occhio spring. The following morning Garibaldi took a twenty-minute bath in Occhio water, with a shower on his wounded leg, and drank Castiglione water. The very next day he left Villa Manzi for Zavota's Belle Vue hotel, now Villa Parodi Delfino, in a more panoramic position, where he stayed until July. His stay is described on the page Garibaldi and the Thermal Cure.

Today

Today the building houses a hotel with a thermal department and spa, which commemorates the general with a suite named after him.

How to get there

Piazza Bagni can be reached from the Marina di Casamicciola by heading inland along the road to the upper part of the town. The Terme Belliazzi and the Antiche Terme Fiola are a short walk away.

What to see nearby

• The Antiche Terme Belliazzi, over the historic Gurgitello spring.
• The Occhio spring, where Garibaldi began his treatment.
• Piazza Bagni and the Gurgitello basin.