Graffiti covers the crumbling walls of the main thermal baths in one of Europe¡¯s oldest spa towns. But after decades of neglect, a group of young architects is working to restore the picturesque Romanian resort that once attracted emperors.

¡°Someone once said that if you drink water from the spring from Herculane, you never leave,¡± said 31-year-old architect Oana Chirila.

¡°I was struck by the beauty of the place,¡± she said of the town in the southwest of the country, surrounded by mountains and crossed by a river.