# Tamburo Spring **At a glance:** The Tamburo spring is a source in the Cotto and Sinigallia hydrothermal basin, on the western side of Piazza Bagni in Casamicciola Terme. It owes its name (“drum”) to the rhythmic sound, like drumbeats, made by water and air in a hollow in the rock, a phenomenon that amazed people in the 19th century. ## Useful information - **Type:** Thermal spring - **Area:** [Piazza Bagni and the Spa Quarter](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/areas/piazza-bagni-spa-quarter/) - **Address:** Piazza Bagni, 80074 Casamicciola Terme NA - **Coordinates:** 40.743600, 13.907500 - **Where:** Western side of Piazza Bagni, in the thermal ravine - **Basin:** Cotto and Sinigallia basin - **Origin of the name:** The sound of water and air in a hollow in the rock - **Historical source:** Venanzio Marone, memoir of 1847 - **Accessibility:** Not open as a sight in its own right ## A spring that “played” The Tamburo spring is one of the sources of the [Cotto and Sinigallia hydrothermal basin](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/thermal-spas/cotto-and-sinigallia-thermal-basin/), which occupies the western side of [Piazza Bagni](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/key-places/piazza-bagni/) in Casamicciola Terme. 19th-century writers placed it in the thermal ravine, to the right of a knoll, further upstream than the Colata spring; beyond the Tamburo, climbing the ravine, you came to the great little waterfall of the Sinigallia spring. ## Where the name comes from The name tells the story of a small natural phenomenon. The physician Venanzio Marone, in his memoir of 1847, explained that the air, struck by the water falling into a hollow in the knoll, produced a rhythmic sound like the beating of a drum (tamburo). The sound aroused people's curiosity and wonder, and it lives on in the spring's name. ## Past uses The physician d'Aloisio reported good effects of the Tamburo water on various patients. By Marone's time, however, the spring was no longer used for therapeutic purposes. The waters of its basin are described by popular sources as alkaline, with sodium bicarbonate predominating, and temperatures of roughly 50 to 60 °C; no recent analyses are available for the Tamburo specifically. **A note on health.** Information on the properties of the waters is of historical and general interest only and is not medical advice: thermal treatments should be taken only at licensed establishments and on a doctor's recommendation. ## The ravine of springs The Tamburo belonged to a group of springs very close together, each with a name linked to a use or a feature: the [Occhio spring](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/thermal-spas/occhio-spring/), the Colata, where women washed linen, the [Spelonca spring](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/thermal-spas/spelonca-spring/) and the Sinigallia. As they were open-air springs in a ravine, in winter they were often buried by earth washed down by the rain. ## Where it is and how to get there The spring is in the western part of Piazza Bagni, in the upper part of the centre of Casamicciola Terme, reachable on foot from the harbour and Piazza Marina or by the island's public buses. It is not a signposted sight and is not accessible for bathing: the best way to understand its setting is a stroll through the Bagni quarter. ## What to see nearby - The [Occhio spring](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/thermal-spas/occhio-spring/) and the [Spelonca spring](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/thermal-spas/spelonca-spring/), in the same basin. - The [Gurgitello basin](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/thermal-spas/gurgitello-thermal-basin/) and the [Antiche Terme Belliazzi](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/thermal-spas/belliazzi-historic-thermal-spa/), on the eastern side of the square. - The [Antiche Terme Manzi](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/thermal-spas/manzi-historic-thermal-spa/), in Piazza Bagni. ## Frequently asked questions ### Why is it called the Tamburo (drum) spring? According to the physician Venanzio Marone (1847), the air struck by the water falling into a hollow in the rock produced a sound like drumbeats. The phenomenon amazed people and gave the spring its name. ### Where is the Tamburo spring? In the western part of Piazza Bagni in Casamicciola Terme, in the ravine of the Cotto and Sinigallia basin, upstream of the old Colata spring. It can be reached on foot from the harbour and Piazza Marina. ### Is the Tamburo spring still used for treatments? According to Marone, it was no longer used therapeutically even by the mid-19th century. Today it is neither a sight nor a bathing spot. ## Also worth seeing - [Cotto and Sinigallia Thermal Basin](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/thermal-spas/cotto-and-sinigallia-thermal-basin/) - [Occhio Spring](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/thermal-spas/occhio-spring/) - [Spelonca Spring](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/thermal-spas/spelonca-spring/) ## Sources and further reading - [Hotel La Maggioressa – Ischia: bacini e sorgenti termali di Casamicciola](https://www.hotellamaggioressa.com/it/ischia/) - [IschiaSky – Il termalismo isolano nell'Ottocento (dalla memoria di Venanzio Marone, 1847)](https://ischiasky.it/dettaglio-news-blog.jsp?idnews=5868) - [IschiaPrenotazioni – I principali bacini termali di Ischia](https://www.ischiaprenotazioni.it/blog/ischia/I-PRINCIPALI-BACINI-TERMALI-DI-ISCHIA)