Caldes de Montbui

The name Caldes comes from the Latin root for "hot" or "warm," a direct reference to the thermal waters that rise from underground at 74°C — among the hottest natural springs in Europe. The Romans were the first to build here in any serious way, constructing a spa complex they called Aquae-Calidae. Parts of that original structure survive today, making it the best-preserved Roman bathhouse on the Iberian Peninsula. The elder Pliny wrote about it in his account of Roman Hispania, though historian Mercedes Sorda notes there are alternative versions suggesting it was Virgil who first described the site.

The town's growth has followed the spring water ever since. The spa industry gathered real momentum towards the end of the nineteenth century, and the warm climate and pleasant surroundings helped pull things along. At the heart of it all is the town's main square, where several significant buildings stand close together: the Roman baths, the town hall, the Broquetas spa, and the museum dedicated to the sculptor Manolo Hugué.

The Font del Lleó, or Lion Fountain, was originally built in 1581, then restored in 1822 and again in 1927. Its flow never varies. The water contains chlorine, fluorine, bromine and iodine, and has traditionally been used to treat conditions such as arthritis and bone fractures.

The parish church was built between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Its doorway is baroque, framed by spiral Solomonic columns. Inside, the church preserves a Romanesque Majestad Christ figure — a style of carved crucifix typical of medieval Cataluña — dating from the twelfth century.