Bullicame (Parco termale del Bullicame)

What to expect

Viterbo calls itself a thermal city, and the Bullicame is the most famous of its springs. It is also the simplest. The Parco termale del Bullicame is a patch of open, scrubby ground on the western edge of the city with a fenced crater where sulphurous water bubbles up at about 136°F58°C, and two bathing pools fed from it.

The round pool is small and takes water straight from the spring channel, so it is the warmer of the two. The long pool is larger and rectangular and runs noticeably cooler. Neither has a published temperature, and the feel changes with the weather and the flow, so step in slowly. On a cool morning the whole site steams. The water is cloudy and the smell of sulphur is strong, which is normal here.

That is all there is. There is no ticket desk, no lifeguard, no shower and no changing room. People come with a bag, a towel and a few bottles of water, and that is the right way to do it. The spring water also leaves a pale mineral mud around the pools that clings to skin and fabric.

The Bullicame is the best known of a group of springs fed by the same hydrothermal basin around Viterbo, which also supplies the free Piscine Carletti nearby and the Bagnaccio pools to the north (see Bagnaccio). Wikipedia notes that the Bullicame’s flow has dropped steadily since the late 20th century.

History

The spring has a long written record. Thermal baths stood here from the Etruscan period until the 18th century. In the early Middle Ages the Bullicame was a stop on the Via Francigena, the pilgrim road from Canterbury to Rome. Its most famous mention is in Dante’s Inferno, Canto XIV, where a boiling stream in hell is compared to the water that runs from the Bullicame. A stone beside the spring carries the verses. Some scholars think Dante’s “sinful women” in that passage were really the workers who soaked hemp in the hot water, an industry Viterbo was known for.

Getting there

The park is about 2.5 km (1.6 miles) west of Viterbo’s historic centre, close to the airport, on Strada Bullicame. Viterbo is about 80 km (50 miles) north of Rome.

By car: Leave Viterbo heading west on the road towards Tuscania (Strada Tuscanese) and follow the signs for the Bullicame, which take you past the turn for the Piscine Carletti and the road to the Terme dei Papi spa. Parking is in a small free car park by the park entrance. It is unguarded, and the Comune resurfaced it in early 2023 after years of complaints about potholes.

By train and bus: Viterbo is served by the FL3 line from Roma Ostiense to Viterbo Porta Fiorentina and by the Roma-Civita Castellana-Viterbo railway. City bus lines 11F and 2F stop about 200 m (220 yards) from the park.

When to go

The pools are usable all year. In winter the hot water and cold air make for good steam, though you will be changing outside. Summer afternoons are hot and crowded, and the sun on the open site is strong, so mornings are better. Weekends bring a lot of people from Rome and the surrounding area. A weekday morning is the quietest time.

Check before you go. The Comune closes the park for maintenance from time to time: on January 13, 2025, for example, it shut the park for the whole day for work on the spring. There have been longer closures in the past too, including one from November 2014 after unauthorised work at a nearby well. A long-discussed €120,000 upgrade of the park had still not visibly started as of 2023.

Rules and etiquette

The Comune does not publish a list of rules for the park, so the practical ones are these:

• Free entry. No ticket, no booking.
• Opening hours were reported in 2024 as 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, to 6 p.m. in summer. Do not plan on a night soak.
• Keep out of the fenced crater. The source water is around 136°F58°C and would scald.
• Wear a swimsuit. This is a public park used by families.
• Carry out your rubbish. In 2023 the mayor asked visitors directly to help keep the site clean.
• No glass near the pools.

Where to stay nearby

There is no lodging at the park. Viterbo, a few minutes’ drive away, has hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs inside and around the walled medieval centre, along with plenty of restaurants. The paid spa resorts on the same thermal basin west of the city, such as the Terme dei Papi, also have hotel rooms if you want the same water with changing rooms and showers. Pilgrims on the Via Francigena often stay in Viterbo and visit the Bullicame and the Bagnaccio on the way north.

Safety notes

• Scalding water at the source. Respect the fence around the crater and keep children well away from it and from the inflow channel.
• Heat. Even the pools can be warm enough to make you dizzy on a hot day. Keep soaks short, drink water, and get out slowly.
• Hydrogen sulphide. The rotten-egg smell comes from the gas. It is normally harmless at the open pools, but if you feel unwell, move away from the water and the crater.
• Footing. The ground and pool edges are muddy and slippery. Sandals or water shoes help.
• No staff. There is no lifeguard and no first aid on site. Do not swim alone, and do not put your head under the water.
• Belongings. The car park is unguarded. Keep valuables out of sight or leave them at your hotel.
• Silver and pale fabric. Sulphur tarnishes silver and the mud can stain light swimwear. Wear something dark and old.

Nearby stops worth adding

The Piscine Carletti, also free and about 2.5 km from the city, are close by and a little more spacious. Viterbo’s medieval quarter of San Pellegrino and the Palazzo dei Papi are 10 minutes away by car. To the north, the paid pools of the Bagnaccio reopened in August 2025 under new management.