Italy, thermal spas: description

Italy is the undisputed leader among the countries of the Mediterranean region in terms of the number of sources of healing water. Thermal resorts of this country are distinguished by a magnificent climate and magnificent natural landscapes. It should be noted that hydrotherapy in sunny Italy has been used since the time of the Ancient Roman Empire. It was during these times that water therapy and visits to thermal spas were considered a characteristic feature of city life, as well as a symbol of financial well-being.

The proximity of many Italian thermal spas to the major cultural centers of the country today has made them an ideal starting point for discovering the culture and history of a magnificent country. The wealth of cold and hot sources of groundwater is explained by the geological structure of the Apennine peninsula. On its territory there are many volcanoes, and its subsoil is cut by a network of underground canals.

What are thermal spas?

As a rule, these are small resort towns located near thermal springs. At a sanatorium in the sense of the word familiar to the Soviet people, they are not alike. These are very modern and cozy cities, located far from noise and fuss, often at the foot of mountains or hills.

The northern regions of Italy, in particular Veneto, are rich in sources of cold and hot waters. The main method of treatment here is mud and balneotherapy, which is especially effective for rheumatism, gynecological diseases and respiratory diseases.

Virtually all regions have similar resorts Italy. Thermal resorts of the southern regions are concentrated in the Emilia Romano area. Here, sulfur-containing waters predominate, with an admixture of iodine, chloride, and also bromide sodium salts. They are recommended for metabolic disorders, diseases of the respiratory system, heart and blood vessels, with certain types of skin diseases.

What is the difference between thermal and spa resorts?

Spa can be located anywhere: in a thermal resort, in a city, in any hotel. Spa is a complex of procedures aimed at improving the condition of the skin of a person.

Thermal spas are special natural areas in which cold or hot springs are located, enriched with useful microelements and minerals. We suggest you get acquainted with the most popular resorts of this type.

Italy, Sirmione

It is one of the most famous thermal spas in the country, which lies between Venice and Milan. Terme di Sirmione is a huge and multifaceted structure that is based on the most valuable sulfuric water with iodide-bromine salts. Here there are two thermal complexes: Terme Catullo and Terme Virgilio, three five-star hotels, one four-star and three-star hotels, and the Aquaria Wellness Thermal Center.

Thermal water treatment

Water Terme di Sirmione refers to sulfuric with iodine-bromide salts: it contains a large amount of sulfur in the form of hydrogen sulfide, bromine, iodine and sodium. Included in its composition are oligoelements - potassium and lithium, arsenic and iron, chromium and cadmium, selenium and zinc, nickel - are catalysts that activate chemical reactions.

Mud, bath and massage

Therapeutic mud is one of the elements of thermal therapy, which is obtained as a result of mixing of water enriched with useful substances with clay. After a period of maturation, which usually lasts about a year, the mud is enriched with mineral salts, which during the procedures are absorbed in the treated areas of the body.

Today it is one of the most visited resorts that Italy is famous for. Sirmione is known in the world for numerous and very effective procedures that are aimed at the prevention, active treatment and rehabilitation of diseases of the musculoskeletal system, problems with gynecology and respiratory organs.

Ischia

As a result of volcanic activity, the island of Ischia appeared on the western coast of the country . Italy is known for many amazing resorts, but this small island needs to be told in more detail. It is surrounded by the waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea, is located in the Gulf of Naples and belongs to the Campania. The area is a little over forty-six square kilometers, from Naples it is only forty kilometers apart. The island is inhabited by sixty-two thousand people.

Ischia is a famous resort, amazing guests with amazing sandy beaches, green olive and citrus groves, endless vineyards. However, the island's visiting card is the thermal springs. Local water contains many useful substances: bicarbonates, mineral salts, sulphates, etc. On this small island to date, there are more than three hundred sources, which specialists are conventionally divided into two groups:

• Hyperthermal, where the water temperature is above 80-100 ° C;
• Thermal, the water temperature in which is not higher than +40 ° C.

Every year thousands of people from all over the world come to improve their health on the island of Ischia. Italy offers many resorts, but all who once visited Ischia, come back here again and again. The healing properties of the springs attract many travelers.

The main hospital of the island is the thermal center in Porto. This is a modern, newly built complex, which treats with hot water from natural sources. The three-storeyed building of the complex combines many functions: treatment rooms, which automatically serve therapeutic mud, are equipped with comfortable recreation areas for visitors. Patients can visit mud therapy, regional and balneological departments, for those who want to relax, a sauna is located, located in the underground grotto.

The complex has a swimming pool with hydromassage function, as well as a massage room. Women can check health in the department of gynecology and regain beauty and youth in the cosmetology room.

It is impossible not to mention the world famous parks of Ischia. This is the territory where the thermal pools are located. In addition to visiting the healing pools, you can admire the unique nature (diverse coniferous trees, flowering shrubs, exotic plants). The island is beautifully equipped with six thermal parks:

• Negombo;
• "Gardens of Poseidon";
• "Aphrodite-Apollo";
• "Castiglione";
• "Tropical";
• "Eden."

In all parks there are swimming pools with thermal water, and for guests who have contraindications to bathing in medicinal waters, there are swimming pools with ordinary water. Each of them has a plate on which the water temperature is indicated.

At the entrance to the park each visitor receives a memo in which there is a map and a description of this place of rest. If you plan to spend in the park all day, do not stock up on sandwiches. Located on the territory of the cafe will not allow you to remain hungry.

Abano Terme

This thermal resort is suitable for fans of a comfortable stay. It combines elegance, luxury and convenience. The effectiveness of treatment at the resort of Abano Terme was appreciated by tourists from many countries of the world. Highly qualified staff are engaged in the treatment and prevention of serious ailments:

• Genitourinary system (prostatitis, gynecological inflammation);
• Musculoskeletal system (osteochondrosis, arthrosis, rheumatism, gout, curvature of the spine);
• Skin ailments (dermatitis, psoriasis, acne);
• Neurological;
• Varicose veins;
• Metabolic disorders and excess weight.

Thermal resort Abano Terme offers immersion in mineral pools, which helps eliminate toxins from the body, cleanses the skin, and normalizes metabolism. The therapeutic mud of this famous resort is unique in the country, having Italian and European certificates of origin, which are called "mature thermal mud DOC".

Emilia Romagna

It is an area of Northern Italy, on the territory of which there are twenty-three thermal centers with the most diverse in chemical composition water: from completely fresh to hydrocarbonate, from sulfate to hydrogen sulphide. According to the patients, she creates real miracles with the body. People come here to get rid of rheumatism, arthritis, many diseases of the nervous system, muscle pain, infertility, chronic inflammation of the gynecological organs.

Thermal resorts Emily Romagna are irreplaceable for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, respiratory diseases. In addition, in combination with mud and spa treatments, the sources will help to prolong the beauty and youth. Thermal springs in Italy have completely different effects on the human body waters.

On the territory of Emilia Romagna there are springs with salts of iodine and bromine, sulfuric, sulphate-calcium-magnesium, soda-alkaline. All these substances are very important for the body.

Salsomaggiore Terme

The resort is located an hour's drive from Bologna and Milan, on the outskirts of Parma, in the Emilia Romagna area. Terme Solsomaggiore is known for its curative properties sources since 1839. At that time, a practicing physician Lorenzo Berzieri worked here, who drew attention to the beneficial effects of water from local springs on a number of diseases. Thanks to him, water was used for healing.

Healing water of this resort can be divided into several types:

• Thermal without iron;
• Thermal (NaCl + iodine salt);
• Without calcium.

In 1839, doctors learned that the concentration of salt in the sources is more than five times their concentration in the Mediterranean, more than three times - in the Dead Sea. Since then, the water from Terme Salsomaggiore has been used for rehabilitation, cosmetic procedures, to improve vitality.

Mineral water Salsomaggiore belongs to the group of saline waters, which include bromine and iodine. It is extracted from artesian wells, from a depth of about 1200 meters. Its temperature is +16 ° C, its density is 16 Baume, that is, it contains 150-176 grams of salt per liter. In addition, it contains iron salts, which paint it in a reddish-rusty color and significantly expand the therapeutic properties.

Piedmont

This region is also popular with tourists. The thermal resorts of Piedmont are well equipped, very comfortable for holidaymakers and are famous for their wellness procedures for patients of all ages. Among them - cosmetology procedures and massages.

Since ancient times Italy has known its medicinal waters. Thermal resorts are very well located. Along with the healing properties of water, the contemplation of luxurious landscapes in many cases contributes to the speedy recovery of patients.

In the middle of the Val Bormida Valley, surrounded by the hills of northern Monferrato, is the small town of Acqui Terme. Its symbol is the marble fountain "Boiling." This name was given to it by the locals, since it is hit by very hot water (+75 ° C). The town of Akvi Terme became a thermal resort already in the II century and has not lost its popularity so far.

Water from the fountain and the lake of the ancient term helps people suffering from diseases of the musculoskeletal system. For those who are used to active recreation, the resort has gyms, tennis courts, swimming pools. Those who wish to revitalize and rejuvenate the skin can visit cosmetology centers equipped with modern equipment and offering numerous procedures for the body and face. The water of local sources is sulphur-iodide-bromine, salty.

Terme di Comano

The resort is nestled slightly west of Trento, in the picturesque Val-Guidicaria valley. Thermal springs in these places carry water to the surface, which has a temperature of +27 ° C, they are saturated with magnesium and calcium bicarbonate, and therefore are successfully used to treat many serious skin diseases (psoriasis, allergic reactions, dermatitis, including chronic ones).

The treatment uses baths, aerosols, inhalations, hydromassages and irrigation. In this resort for several years, working correction and aesthetic departments, where patients are offered various procedures, including laser correction. In this resort there is an excellent hotel for eighty rooms with an adjacent resort park of about fourteen hectares.

Levico Terme

The Italian town of Levico became a resort in the XIX century. His only arsenic-ferruginous sources in the country became famous for their medicinal properties, which are recognized by international medicine. The town is located at the same name lake, which in its form resembles a fjord. In it you can swim on a boat, swim, fish. In the vicinity, at an altitude of fifteen hundred meters, is located the area of Vetriolo, which is surrounded by thick spruce groves.

The thermal water here drains from the rocky grottoes. The two main springs are near Vetriolo, which is located above the town of Levico, on Mount Front. Their waters are saturated with iron and arsenic, as well as useful elements such as phosphorus, sulfur, manganese, copper, cobalt, zinc and nickel. Mineral waters of this resort are used in the treatment of stress conditions, diseases of the musculoskeletal system, rheumatism, airway pathology, skin, thyroid gland and a number of gynecological diseases.

The resort offers various types of procedures: inhalations, baths, aerosols, irrigation, massages and hydromassages, mud wraps, aesthetic procedures. In addition, there are thermal centers in Levico Terme, a new balneological center in Vetriolo and a 4-star hotel located in Ronceno.

Levico Terme offers guests a thermal holiday in a warm, mild climate, walks through the mountains, where you can see the ancient castles, do different kinds of sports. And in the heart of the city you can visit the workshops of local craftsmen and evaluate the results of their work.

Battalia Terme

If you suffer from kidney disease and you are recommended for treatment on the waters, then you will not find a better resting place than Italy. Thermal resorts of this country give amazing results in the treatment of the genitourinary system. Particularly known for his successes in the fight against these ailments is one of them. It's about Terme Batalha - a magnificent mud bath resort, located near the Euganean Hills, fifteen kilometers from Padua.

The water in this resort is salty, hot (+84.5 ° C), bromo-iodine-containing. It is most often used for mud wraps, which are very effective in the treatment of diseases of the genitourinary system, osteoporosis, inflammatory, respiratory, skin, gynecological, diseases, metabolic disorders, rheumatism. In addition to mud treatment, bathing in thermal water, inhalation, therapeutic caves, hydromassage and irrigation are offered.

Bormio

A complex Italian resort, where you can combine skiing and visiting mineral springs, near which are equipped spa centers.

The Bormio terms are located in the north of the country, almost on the border with neighboring Switzerland. The skiing part of the resort is represented by a large Alta-Valtellina region with a ski pass, which allows you to ride on more than one hundred and twenty kilometers. But the main feature of this resort is the opportunity to combine skiing with treatment in one of three spa complexes that use thermal springs, or with relaxation.

There are nine sources here. They originate in the depths of the Southern Alps, more precisely in basalt rocks, where they are saturated with useful substances, which amazingly affect the skin - it becomes elastic, smooth and velvety.

On Bormio there is a huge spa complex, in which many different procedures are carried out. After skiing they are especially useful and enjoyable. You can visit the complex in the evenings, after daytime sports and fascinating walks in the surrounding area.

Looking at the photos posted in the article, you will be able to appreciate how beautiful Italy is. Thermal spas, of course, we have not presented everything to you. Nevertheless, we hope that you will be able to choose the most suitable option for yourself.