Peio Spring

The first written evidence of Peio’s springs dates back to 1549, when documents referred to the unique properties of the “baths of Pej.” A century later, in 1660, Alessandro Colombo, physician and physicist to the Most Serene Archduke of Austria Ferdinand Charles, published a Latin monograph titled “De admirando Dei dono” (“On the wonderful gift of God”), describing the healing virtues of Peio’s Antica Fonte and urging that they not remain hidden. By then, northern Italy and Austria-Germany were already sending patients to the springs. In the early years of the 20th century, Peio water began to be bottled and sold in pharmacies across the Austro-Hungarian Empire, from Vienna to Brescia, beyond the Tonale Pass, in small greenish bottles that made a “healthy pilgrimage across Italy and Europe, requested by demanding and sophisticated consumers keeping up with science and fashion.”

The mineral springs originate deep within the Ortles-Cevedale mountain massif, which encompasses the highest peaks of the Eastern Alps. The ferruginous water is reportedly among the highest in ferrous ion content in Europe, to the point that it can replace pharmacological treatment in certain cases. Three springs still emerge: Fonte Alpina, cold and light at 7.2°C (45.0°F) with very low salt concentration; Antica Fonte, acidulous and ferruginous at 7.7°C (45.9°F) with high carbon dioxide; and Nuova Fonte at 6.5°C (43.7°F) with alkalizing bicarbonate, calcium, and magnesium. Each tells the story of its own relationship with the earth’s crust.