Abano Terme Geography & Climate

The town stands at the eastern edge of the Euganean Hills, where a group of extinct volcanic cones rises abruptly out of the otherwise flat Venetian plain, ten kilometres south-west of Padua.

The hills are the remains of volcanic activity of some 35 million years ago -- trachyte and basalt domes, most of them rounded and wooded, rising to just over 600 metres at Monte Venda. They form a regional park.

The thermal system is the defining geological fact. Rainfall on the Little Dolomites, some 80 kilometres north, sinks into the limestone and travels south through deep aquifers, heating as it goes and dissolving mineral salts, before rising along the fault lines at the edge of the volcanic massif. The journey takes roughly twenty-five to thirty years and the water emerges at about 87 degrees.

The town itself is flat, at around 14 metres above sea level, with the hills immediately to the west and the plain running east toward Padua and the lagoon.

Summers (June-August) are hot and humid on the plain, frequently above thirty degrees, with afternoon thunderstorms. This is the least comfortable season for thermal treatment.

Winters (December-February) are cold and damp, with hard frosts and the dense Po-valley fog. Snow is occasional. Outdoor thermal pools in this weather are one of the town's real pleasures.

Spring and autumn are the pleasant seasons, mild and clear, and the best times for walking in the Euganean Hills.

The hills immediately west give some shelter and a slightly milder microclimate on their lower slopes, where olives and vines grow.