Terme of Saint Venera al Pozzo

The thermal baths of Saint Venera al Pozzo are part of the Archaeological Park of the Valley of Aci, set up in 2010.

The site is characterized by the presence of water from sulfur springs. The waters were discovered for the first time by the Greeks but the structures built by them were destroyed on arrival of the Romans who, in the fourth century BC, built many structures that are still there.

The baths were made up of several rooms connected to each other, some of them topped with barrel vaults. The barrel-vaulted ceilings have holes designed to let the excess of steam out.

Although only the bottom floor remains, by the brick columns in this present it is assumed that the floor was made of a double floor which favored the circulation of hot air through the grooves.

The name of the baths dates back to the seventeenth century; it is said that after the martyrdom, the body of Saint Venera, the patron saint of Acireale, was thrown into the source of the Baths. To honor the Blessed Virgin, around 1300, a church was built.

Place of worship and pilgrimage, the church, the baths and its miraculous waters quickly became a destination for devotees.