Throughout the Roman Empire, sacred springs became the hearts of major settlements and healing centers:
In Roman religious law, the term indicated that an object or place was the exclusive property of a deity, legally removed from human use ( profanum ) and dedicated to the divine through state action. A fons sacer was believed to possess numen —a spiritual power or divine presence. fons sacer
The ver sacrum was a vow of last resort. In times of extreme duress — plague, famine, prolonged military defeat, or portents of divine wrath — the Italic peoples (Sabines, Samnites, Umbrians, and others) believed that the highest gods (Jupiter, Mars, or Apollo) demanded the ultimate piety : the sacrifice of everything born in the next spring. Throughout the Roman Empire, sacred springs became the