📝 The ABANDONED spas of Sclafani Bagni 📖 📸 🎥

Sclafani Bagni, a small town in the province of Palermo, houses among its hills this ancient now abandoned thermal institute, easily accessible by car thanks to a paved road that creeps into the green, even if, paradoxically, it is equally easy to get lost.

Google Maps, in fact, sometimes suggests absurd routes or leads to one-way streets so you have to arm yourself with patience and, maybe, ask the locals for some indication.

It is not uncommon, arriving here, to come across some camper of foreign travelers who stop for a few days attracted by the decadent and silent charm of this place out of time.

The old thermal institute suddenly appears after a small climb that can be done both by car and on foot: in front there is a parking lot and a little further on the abandoned building with its empty windows and walls marked by time, it almost seems to invite you to enter to listen to the stories that it still keeps within its walls.

Next to the institute is the pool of "warm" water which is actually warm, but which still gives a feeling of peace and suspension from the world: the panorama around is typical of the Sicilian countryside, harsh and sweet at the same time.

The history of these baths is made of attempts and shipwrecked dreams: the institute went through several managements but in the end it was always let go, accomplices the landslides and natural phenomena that often make the area isolated especially in the winter months, when the risk of being cut off is real.

After so many attempts, the place was definitively abandoned and even today it seems that time here has stopped: exploring these spaces is like taking a trip back at least twenty years, walking through the shadows and silences of a past that insists on remaining present.

Entering this building was like making a journey through time, crossing an invisible threshold where every detail seems to speak of lived lives and now forgotten stories. As soon as you cross the door you immediately feel a different air, almost heavy, and I understand why some argue that this place is even haunted: the silence that reigns within the walls, broken only by the sound of my footsteps, creates a surreal atmosphere.

Walking through the almost empty rooms between peeling walls and broken windows that let in a cold and sharp light I felt the feeling of being watched by a past that does not want to be forgotten.

In the old bar, the objects that remained "abandoned to themselves" tell of distant days made of chatter, laughter and daily routines, I came across sinks still intact, some uniforms that may have belonged to an employee and many objects of common use left there as if, suddenly, everyone had to leave the place in a hurry, without being able to take anything away.

Unfortunately, thermal waters are no longer found inside the structure and the courtyard is now invaded by weeds, but the evocative power of these spaces remains intact.

It's really impressive to walk through those long interior and exterior corridors letting the imagination reconstruct the times when the spas were alive: I can almost see people relaxed between the rooms, the staff rushing to meet the needs of the clients, the voices and movements that are now just memories.

The exploration of Sclafani Bagni was for me a mystical experience that I highly recommend to all urbex enthusiasts and to those looking for strong emotions in places where time seems to have stopped.

It's one of those places that stays inside, that leaves you with questions and suggestions, I'm sure that if I were to go back to the area I wouldn't miss the opportunity to visit it again, there are places that, even if empty, continue to tell their story to those who want to listen to it.

We are about to talk about a unique place in the world.

The Abandoned Baths of Sclafani Bagni represent one of those experiences that is able to transform a simple travel itinerary into a real adventure between past and mystery. I really felt like a Ubex, an explorer of places forgotten by time, ready to leave behind the safety of the beaten roads to follow the curiosity towards what remains hidden.

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