Photo by Evelyscher, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
🇮🇹 Italy · Campania
Photo by Evelyscher, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
🇮🇹 Italy · Campania
♨ Temperature
83°C
⛰ Altitude
—
⚗ pH
7.58
💧 TDS
—
🌊 Flow rate
—
📅 Established
Greek colonization period; major development in Roman era
✓ Verified on 2026-07-28
The Cavascura thermal baths occupy a valley of natural caves near Maronti Beach on the island of Ischia, reached on foot along a rivulet of hot water. The site's use dates to Greek colonization of Ischia, referenced in the writings of Pindar, Homer, Strabo, and Pliny; in the Roman period Cicero wrote of the valley's 'boiling water.' Medieval Angevin nobility used the baths, and in the Aragonese period King Alfonso reportedly tested the waters himself and had additional caves built. Physician Giovanni Elisio's 1519 treatise 'Succinta instauratio de Balneis' drew visitors from Naples. The water is hyperthermal at 83°C at source, with a measured pH of 7.58, and is classified as salt-bromine-iodide-bicarbonate-alkaline.
Cavascura's name derives from the Greek 'causos' and 'coure,' meaning 'extreme heat.' The site has a continuous documented history from Greek antiquity through the Roman, Angevin, and Aragonese periods, including a visit by King Alfonso of Aragon, who had additional caves excavated after testing the waters himself.
Physician Giovanni Elisio's 1519 treatise on the baths drew visitors from Naples, and medieval accounts describe Angevin nobility and war-wounded patients seeking treatment in the caves — an early example of medical tourism to the site.
Websitecavascuraterme.it
AddressCavascura valley, near Maronti Beach, Barano d'Ischia, Ischia island, Naples province, Campania, Italy