The Heron and Frog Fountain

In front of the Regina Spa, inside the luxurious Tettuccio park, is the The Heron (the symbolic animal of Montecatini Terme) and Frog Fountain.

Created in 1925 by sculptor Raffaello Romanelli, the fountain is an allegory of the evolution of the Valdinievole from a marshy and unhealthy area to a location with renowned beneficial properties thanks to its thermal waters.

The reclamation work was promoted by Grand Duke Peter Leopold of Lorraine, who is considered the enlightened founder of the spa complex. It was precisely because of the thermal waters that rose to the surface and stagnated in the craters that the Valdinievole was frequently affected by epidemics and famine between 1550 and 1756.

The Grand Duke’s merit was to turn the cause of a territory’s affliction into its source of wealth. In 1773, the first spa, the Bagno Regio, was built; in 1775 the Terme Leopoldine and in 1779 the renowned Tettuccio.

A cute nursery rhyme for children was written by Bruna Rossi with illustrations by Maria Chiara Sbolci. It tells the story of Montecatini through the heron and the frog: “In that rather damp land, having fur didn’t warm your hands! It was a bit of a lonely valley, but it had very diverse alleys”.