Mud is like good wine. It can only be formed in the presence of a certain clay, under a given slice of sky, bathed in a certain thermal water that gushes, full of a beneficial booty, from the bowels of the earth. Instead of aging in the cellar, it matures for months in special outdoor tanks before it can be used. In the “doc” thermal mud, formed on the terroir under certain atmospheric conditions, a microflora spontaneously germinates which represents the living part. At the spa, the cradle of our traditional medicine and of mind & body care, you go to stock up on remedies that prepare you for autumn, the season of slowing down, the need to take shelter and the elimination of what is superfluous, which announces the quiescence of winter.
Spa with the 200 euro bonus
A return also favored by the availability, starting from 8 November, of the spa bonus decided by the Ministry of Economic Development: 53 million available, equivalent to 200 euros per person, to be spent in the spas registered on Invitalia. There are 325 establishments in Italy and spa hotels with a capacity of 30 thousand beds for an annual turnover of 765.5 million euros (Federterme 2019 estimates), to be chosen according to the properties of the water and the pleasantness of wellness pampering.
Patented (live) mud
But the only mud whose effectiveness is guaranteed by a European patent is that of Abano – Montegrotto. “Extremely powerful natural drug whose algae produce a cyan bacterium with a strong anti-inflammatory action – notes Guglielmo Di Blasio, medical director of Relilax in Montegrotto -, mud is perfect for muscle stiffness in the first colds”: it treats muscle contractures, joints and neurological pathologies. With the sweating that follows a mud pack, excess extracellular fluids are eliminated. A sort of reset takes place in the organism, an anti-pain relief action that occurs after two weeks of treatment of at least 6 days. «A thermal bath – continues Di Blasio – remineralizes, activates the circulatory system and the exchange of liquids, and induces the production of beta-endorphins, the internal ‘opioids’ that promote joy and resilience to stress».
There are 90 spa hotels between Abano, Montegrotto, Battaglia, Galzignano and Torreglia that draw their sap from the salty-bromine-iodic thermal water that flows from the Asiago plateau and the Lessini mountains, in the Pre-Alps. The mud is like a natural medicine: it is taken on an empty stomach or after a light breakfast, applied to the parts of the body that require prevention or where joint pain is felt. The AlcaRelilax weeks at the Terme di Relilax, also scheduled for autumn, aim to restore the acid-base balance, combining diet, massages and live mud applications.
From Garda to South Tyrol
On Lake Garda, Bardolino’s AquaLux Terme insists on detoxification with the proposal of not only whirlpools. Detoxifying peeling with algae microgranules combined with warm mud and draining peat treatments make up the detox package of the Bibione seafront spa. The Aquaria center in Sirmione, also in Lombardy, has developed, on Thursdays until December, Yoga & Mind evenings which include Thermal Water Yoga in the thermal infinity pool on Lake Garda. A journey into the water from which you come out stopping in the relaxation areas of Rain, Mountain, Air and Fire.