Sally tells us about her top 5 of Italian SPAs. Let’s discover them together!
Let’s start with 2 assumptions:
- Italy is a republic founded on SPAs (100km2 does not pass without a SPA!)
- I am an undisputed fan of SPAs
Today I wanted to share my top 5 with you, but stopping in southern Italy, an area that doesn’t joke about the concentration of SPAs.
From those of Ischia in Campania to the Apulian ones of Santa Cesarea passing through the SPA of Latronico in Basilicata up to the Calabrian Luigiane ones, you are spoiled for choice and many are completely unknown to the general public.
Almost all of them are known for the chemical and physical characteristics of the thermal waters that spring from the sources present in the area and for the landscape contexts in which they are located.
Small note: a SPA is often referred as a place to treat remautism or other diseases of aged people, and when I enthusiastically share with my friends stories of visiting a SPA I am imagined together with a handful of old people, maybe playing burraco between treatments.
Anyone who loves the genre knows well that there is much more in a SPA, with what courage to reduce a SPA park like the Poseidons in Ischia to a kind of hospice, just to give an example?
Going back to my top 5 thermal baths in southern Italy, here is the ranking, of course from bottom to top:
5th place – Thermae of Santa Cesarea
“Health overlooking the sea” is the slogan that best describes the Thermae of Santa Cesarea.
In the well-known seaside and health resort of Santa Cesarea Terme, located on a cliff overlooking the Otranto Channel, where from four natural caves communicating with the sea, flow beneficial sulphurous waters with a long history.
Waters that make it possible to cure various pathologies or to undergo wellness and aesthetic treatments.
Immersed in postcard settings, in a harmonious balance of lights and colors, the Thermae of Santa Cesarea SPA offer everything you need to find inner peace and with the whole world: from SPA treatments to teraupetic treatments, from mud to wellness packages.
The best hotels near the Thermae of Santa Cesarea: Grand Hotel Mediterraneo • Hotel Alizé • Hotel Aurora e del Benessere • Albergo Palazzo • Hotel Santa Lucia
4th place – The Calda of Latronico
In the so-called hot area in the province of Potenza and about 4 km from the town of Latronico are located the Thermae of Latronico known since prehistoric times but used for their healing properties only since few years.
The waters of the thermal complex gush out from two springs at a temperature of 22°C , the Great Source bicarbonate-calcium and the Small Source bicarbonate-calcium-sulphurous, and are indicated for aesthetic treatments or for the care of respiratory, circulatory and dermatological diseases.
The establishment, immersed in a 4-hectare park, provides to its guests a rich offer: pavilions for mud therapy and balneotherapy, a multipurpose sports facility with swimming pools, tennis courts and an aesthetic and rehabilitation center.
From the SPA it is also possible to go hiking in the nearby Pollino National Park. Nothing is missing for a dream stay.
Hotels near the Thermae of Latronico: Monteverde • Il Casaletto • Bed And Breakfast Delle Grotte • Den Hotel Terme
3rd place – Thermae Luigiane
Classified at the 1st Super quality level, the Thermae Luigiane in Calabria gush out at a natural temperature of 47°C, from the three hot springs placed at the base of the rocky spur called the “Devil’s Rock”, also called “Devil’s Finger” and from the sources the Galleria Fredda and the Ferrata.
They are used for the treatments of the widest range of patalogies for the beauty of the body.
They represent an eden of well-being located in an unspoiled corner of the Mediterranean in the woods along the valley of the River Bagni but close to the beaches of the Riviera dei Cedri.
Best hotels close to the Thermae Luigiane: Grand Hotel Delle Terme
2nd place – Thermae of Telese
The result of an earthquake, happened in the year 1349, that caused sulphurous waters to flow and therefore the possibility of exploiting them for thermal purposes, in the Telesina valley there is no shortage of accommodation facilities with SPA included, the valley itself collects less massive and more selective tourism, but not for this elitist.
The Thermae of Telese are one of the few and latest Italian pearls still to be discovered; returning to the SPA, another important consideration concerns water that contains bivalent sulfur, in constant transformation and therefore similar to that of body cells.
Best hotels near the Thermae of Telese: Grand Hotel Telese • Aquapetra Resort & Spa • Telese Terme Apartment • Mariposa
1st place – Thermae of Fumarola
In Ischia there are also free SPAs: The Thermae of Fumarola. These are very popular and owe their name to the fumaroles, natural phenomena that are formed by jets of steam and other gaseous substances which, in correspondence with the volcanic fractures in the soil, release their pressure on the surface.
Among the areas in which these phenomena occur, I suggest the Fumarole beach where you can do the so-called sandblasting for free, covering yourself completely with sand and leaving out only the head, ideal for rheumatic pains.
But take care not to get burnt, steam reaches very high temperatures!
What about you? What is your favorite SPA in the south?
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