Image Details

Noelle Soren

Cold springs near Chianciano Terme (the town visible at the top of the photo), 90 miles northwest of Rome, may have saved the life of Augustus (27 B.C.-14 A.D.). According to the first-century B.C. poet Horace, the emperor immersed himself in “icy waters” to cure an ailing liver. These “waters” were probably a spring-fed pool recently excavated by author David Soren. Known locally as the Vasca, the pool is mostly hidden by trees at mid-right in the photo. The partially uncovered area at mid-left is the site of streets and administration buildings contemporaneous with the Vasca, though they were not yet excavated when the photo was shot.