Tucked away in the heart of the San Siro district, a complex with an elegant Art Nouveau soul tells a story of surprising transformations. Today it is hard to imagine that these spaces, now reborn, once housed prestigious thoroughbreds, before falling into a slow decline after World War II until they were abandoned in the 1970s.
The turning point came only in recent years, when its location above a historic water spring 396 meters deep —about three times the height of the Duomo—brought renewed attention to this unique site. After a careful redevelopment process, the complex has become Italy’s largest urban thermal park, ready to host live classical music concerts under the stars again this summer .
A Rediscovered Art Nouveau Gem: From Stables to Thermal Park
Today it is one of Italy’s largest wellness oases, but beneath this transformation lies a surprising story. The former stables of the De Montel family, in the heart of Milan, have become a true luxury spa complex, with over 16,000 square meters dedicated to relaxation, including indoor spaces, courtyards, and green areas (10,000 square meters of green space and 6,000 square meters of indoor space).
Yet, in the 1920s, they were one of the city’s most refined examples of Art Nouveau style. Designed by architect Vietti Violi for the noble De Montel banking family, these stables were a true architectural gem, later left in a state of disrepair for decades, despite the precious thermal heritage hidden beneath the ground.
This summer, right in one of its natural areas, this heritage comes alive through music: this summer it will host special Candlelight Open Air concerts. In the elegant setting of the thermal baths, a string quartet will reinterpret pop songs in a classical style, illuminated by thousands of candles.
📍Where: Via Achille, 6, 20151 Milan MI
🎟️Prices: experiences starting at €50
L’Acqua Marcia: the millennia-old history of Milan’s therapeutic waters
Long before cities like Rome, Bormio, or Montecatini became symbols of Italian thermalism, Milan, too, held a surprising water heritage. As early as the 2nd century AD in Mediolanum, its groundwater was prized by the ancient Romans for its rejuvenating properties. It was Bonvesin de la Riva who made the city aware of the hidden wealth beneath its soil; in his *De Magnalibus Urbis Mediolani*, he documented for the first time the exceptional abundance and quality of Milan’s water resources.
These insights were confirmed centuries later, thanks to 19th-century hydrogeological studies and, in particular, the 1927 analyses conducted by Formenti and Scipiotti. It was then that the unique properties of the so-called “Acqua Marcia” were validated, whose mineralization is the result of a very long geological process.
6 August 2026 22:30
6 August 2026 20:30
