The great future ambitions of Acqui, a European spa city, are rooted in its history, of which this book tells the story. As in other localities that were made famous (and attractive) by their thermal waters, it is the spa that has given rise to its economic well-being and, especially, to its historical identity and memory. Centuries of use of its curative mud and waters brought with it great buildings for accommodation and treatment, though the city truly took off in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. However, unlike many international centres of relaxation and recreation, Acqui has always been a place more for treatment than for leisure. Though never built, the architectural designs of the 1920s were extraordinary in terms of their spatial and design solutions, and still today they point to an age of enormous ambition, accompanied by a grand vision for the city and its spa system. A vision in which the city believes as much today as ever before.