The ancients affirmed that contact with the water of the Sale transformed everything into stone. The first verification of the particular properties which in that area characterised not the water of the river, but the thermo-mineral springs present in the area which took the name of Baths of Contursi (Bagni di Contursi), south and downstream of the hill of the city, in full river reserve with its luxuriant vegetation of white poplars, willows and holm oaks.