Balena Bianca and Fosso Bianco, Bagni San Filippo, Tuscany

View of Balena Bianca, or “White Whale,” of Bagni San Filippo in Tuscany, Italy. Signs discouraging climbing the calciferous formations are largely ignored by visitors drawn by the mineral-laden waters of this natural, and free, thermal spring. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Although the calcium deposits that define Fosso Bianco and make up the site’s largest formation, Balena Bianca, can appear more uniformly white, they were heavily streaked in shades of greens and browns during our visit in mid-June of 2018. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Stream running through Fosso Bianco in Bagni San Filippo, Tuscany. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Column formations on Balena Bianca, part of the thermal springs in Bagni San Filippo, Tuscany. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Freaking cool patterns created by the many thin layers of mineral formations in Bagni San Filippo’s thermal springs of Fosso Bianco. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Detail of the mineral deposits that make up Balena Bianca and Fosso Bianco in Bagni San Filippo, Tuscany. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

View of the not-so-white “White Whale” in Bagni San Filippo, Tuscany. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Parco Mediceo di Pratolino, Vaglia

Giambologna’s Colosso dell’Appennino (1579–80) overlooking a pond in the Pratolino, a former Medici garden also known as Parco di Villa Demidoff. The giant was originally surrounded by an artificial recess, appearing to live in a mountain cave. It was part of a greater arrangement of grottoes, fountains, sculptures, and automatons, most of which are gone today. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

An inhabitant of the giant’s pond. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz/Joshua Albers.

Behind the giant: a dragon and two (now closed) grottoes. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Statue of Diana, Pratolino. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Lizard of the Pratolino. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Peschiera della Maschera (Fountain of the Masks) in the Pratolino. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Another frog living beneath the giant. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz/Joshua Albers.

The giant gets two pictures, because look at him. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.