[dropcap type=”default”]È[/dropcap] an unmissable opportunity to combine the fascination of art with a charitable vacation the one staged in Acqui Terme: From June 15 to July 3, in fact, the Piedmontese village in the province of Alessandria is home to the International Biennial for Engraving 2019, a must-attend event to learn about the current production of world graphic design in its various traditional and experimental forms.

Villa Ottolenghi Biennial Engraving — Villa Ottolenghi Wedekind, home of the Biennale

The choice of venue is not accidental: Acqui Terme is the world capital of contemporary engraving art-discoverable thanks to the unique collection housed inside the Engraving Museum-but it is also a place already known in Roman times for its thermal baths, nestled among the vineyards of the Alto Monferrato UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A perfect combination, in short, to indulge in the best of world graphics en plein air, between a stop at the Spa and a tasting of the exquisite local products, first and foremost the fine wines. The 2019 edition of the Biennale will take place in three picturesque locations: in the beautiful Ottolenghi Wedekind Villa, a masterpiece signed by architect Marcello Piacentini and landscape architect Pietro Porcinai, and among the city streets, particularly along the arcades of Via XX September and in the Walkway of the Castle of the Paleologists, which houses the Museum of Engraving. Not-to-be-missed events include the opening ceremony on June 15, during which the winner of the Acqui 2019 will be proclaimed from among 13 finalists from around the world, and the ‘ Permanent Exhibition of Award-winning Works from the Biennale 1991-2019 in the Hall of Stones of the articulated Monterosso complex.

And after the moments dedicated to art, what could be better than discovering the wellness offered by the spa soul of the village?

You can choose from the Royal Baths Acqui, which offer a wide range of healing treatments at the two facilities, the New Spa downtown, connected with the historic namesake Grand Hotel Nuove Terme which also has a modern spa with a thermal water pool, and the Queen, About 1 km from the center.

Acqui Terme Wellness — Acqui Terme is the world capital of engraving art, but also of well-being.

If you prefer real spas in the most modern conception of the term instead, don’t miss the Spring Lake, inside a magnificent historic building: here you can benefit from a world of well-being distributed in multiple environments covering more than 2,500 square meters, but above all from the healing waters coming from more than a thousand meters deep from two geothermal lakes, whose benefits were already appreciated by the ancient Romans, who considered them the best in the Empire.