From sand to sea water, from prickly pear to mastic, from rosemary to lavender: the characteristic natural elements of the Salento beach become wellness paths inside a spa that is born entirely in the open air on the coast, on the beach, from which the raw materials are drawn and processed. The experiment, called Natural Sea Spa, was started inside the Le Cinque Vele bathhouse in Pescoluse, in the province of Lecce, until the end of the summer season.
The aim is to create a new way to enjoy the benefits of the territory and to lay the foundations for one “slow” tourist use, aware and respectful of the environment. Specifically, Salento offers abundant natural gifts, whose health benefits are mostly unknown, such as sand and small stones, salt, fruit plants and Mediterranean shrubs, which can be combined in specific treatments for the body in the form of essential oils and natural compounds prepared manually.
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«This project intends to transform our territory into wellness – explains Sara Florio, Spa manager – with a spa that is born on the beach, with the beach. This happens in a historical phase in which it is essential to relaunch tourism by giving life to new models of enhancement and use, far from the collective imagination linked to Salento. It is necessary to move towards a conscious and respectful approach to biodiversity of a land so rich and generous, which offers all the tools to enjoy benefits not only for the eyes and the mind, but also for the body. Once the summer season is closed, we will evaluate whether to make the plant permanent and whether to replicate it in other areas as well ».
the typical raw materials of this Salento beach that converge in the Natural Sea Spa are: prickly pear, whose cladoids – the so-called “shovels” – are rich in active ingredients such as phosphorus, sodium, potassium, fibers and vitamins, and polysaccharides, or molecules consisting of long chains of sugars, with different molecular weight, able to hydrate, soothe and regenerate stressed skin and scalp; lavender, whose essential oil is ideal for relaxing treatments thanks to the presence of linalool, a terpene with calming activities that increases the activity of the parasympathetic system through the olfactory structures, thus contributing to the relaxation of the body.
And again, the mastic, a shrub typical of the Mediterranean scrub and used for its refreshing and protective properties, which consists mainly of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes, in particular of α-pinene and β-myrcene, which play a decongestant role on the venous and lymphatic; rosemary, which abounds in phenolic compounds, especially flavonoids and numerous phenolic acids and tannins, antioxidant substances, and which is able to carry out a draining and lipolytic action useful for counteracting cellulite through the drainage and elimination of body waste; mint, whose menthol-rich oil stimulates the superficial nerve endings by transmitting a sensation of cold and causing first a vasoconstriction and subsequently a vasodilation to procure relief from fatigue and muscle aches; it also helps to drain and detoxify the body, giving freshness and lightness.