Centro Nuoto Montevarchi

€9 gets you an RFID card with a chip in it. Use it to open the turnstile. In the locker room, experiment with the lockers until you find one that will open if you first press the yellow button then touch the colored side of the card to the sensor above the button. I promise I am not making this up. Put your items in the locker and close it. Push the button, again, then touch the colored side of the chip to the sensor. Check to be sure it is locked. Save yourself a great deal of trouble and remember the number of the locker. Go into the shower and experience bafflement at the absence of water flow. Then notice an array of chip sensors at knee level, one beneath each shower head. Touch the colored side of the card to the sensor to start and stop the flow of water. I promise I am not making this up. Now that you are showered and ready to swim, ask yourself what you are going to do with the card. I put mine in my swim cap, whereafter I was able to entertain myself by lightly headbutting the sensors in the shower to turn them on and off. Also, count your change carefully when you pay. In Italy it is always a good idea to say the amount of money that you are handing to someone in Italian.

I very much enjoyed swimming here, and I can commend this pool to the foreign visitor as an excellent first experience in the differences between Italy and your home country.