THE ROAD TO WELLNESS - ISCHIA'S THERMAL WATER, MUD AND WELLNESS CENTRES
THE ROAD TO WELLNESS - ISCHIA'S THERMAL WATER, MUD AND WELLNESS CENTRES
Ischia offers more to its visitors than simply sun, sea and relaxation. The island's volcanic creation has blessed it with a number of natural resources which have been steadily harnessed over thousands of years to create health benefits for those that come here.
We've taken a closer look at Ischia's thermal water and mud to understand how it's used in the island's thermal parks and gardens, natural springs, wellness centres and spas.
We've taken a closer look at Ischia's thermal water and mud to understand how it's used in the island's thermal parks and gardens, natural springs, wellness centres and spas.
The island of Ischia, famed for its stunning beaches, landscapes and warm climate offers something even more important to its visitors – wellness of mind, body and spirit.
Dating back to 700BC when Ischia was first settled and discovered, the island’s natural volcanic activity has been harnessed for its curative powers. Archaeological digs have discovered that the Euboeans, the Greek tribe who were the very first people to live on the island, used the thermal water from the springs to treat the wounds of their injured soldiers who had returned from war. So revered was the power of the water, that temples to gods such as Apollo were built in its honour.
Throughout history, mankind has learned more about the thermal water of Ischia and understood how best to deploy it for the treatment of disease and also for its ability to restore the spirit. The Romans, renowned for their love of baths and spas, built “Thermae” on the island so that the public could benefit from the water’s many restorative qualities. Later in the island’s history, during the renaissance, a physician by the name of Giulio Iasolino, conducted various tests of the thermal waters on the island in order to better understand how it could be used to treat diseases of his era. With Iasolino’s positive reports about Ischia’s health benefits, the island became known as a centre for wellness and healing and was used by none other than Italian Risorgimento hero Giusseppe Garibaldi to heal his wounds after the battle of Aspromonte, a pivotal moment in Italian history.
The effect of modern-day tourism on the island has only served to improve and enhance the facilities that nature provided, so that Ischia can now be considered as one of the world’s leading destinations for wellness holidays. A large number of hotels on the island include the word “Terme” in their title, which means that they have their own well from which to draw the thermal water and use it in their spas and wellness centres. These spas and wellness centres provide a wide-range of treatments for mind, body and spirit, using a combination of the thermal water, mud, massages and other sophisticated techniques aimed at improving health and promoting relaxation.
In other parts of the island, natural phenomena such as hot springs and fumaroles have been nurtured over the years, so that they now provide visitors to the island with free facilities with which they can take advantage of both the health and relaxation benefits of the thermal water. The natural hot springs of Sorgeto for example, are a series of rock-pools in a small bay where the water is naturally heated by the volcanic activity from below, which allows bathers to spend the day sunbathing and relaxing in the different pools with their various temperatures. There are also natural springs such as those at Nitrodi where islanders and visitors are able to have showers in the naturally warm water, or even to collect it in bottles to use at home for the treatment of diseases and ailments.
Since the dawn of tourism on the island, a series of thermal parks and gardens have sprung-up all across the island in order to take advantage of the island’s natural volcanic resources to provide a relaxing or even fun day out. Parks such as Poseidon or Negombo have a wide range of swimming or bathing pools with temperatures ranging from around 20 to 40° Celcius which can be used as part of hydrotherapy or heliotherapy programs along with Kneipp baths, saunas, steam rooms and many other modern-day treatments.
At the centre of the treatment programs found in Ischia, is the use of mud. The mud is created by using a combination of the island’s thermal water and clay which is full of minerals that can be used to treat a wide range of diseases and ailments. The wellness centres first provide you with a health-check in order to establish whether or not the mud treatments will be beneficial to your health, (pregnant women or people with high blood-pressure for example are in most cases not permitted for this type of treatment). Once the tests have been carried-out, the wellness centre doctors will then prescribe you with a course of treatment.
The courses prescribed by the doctors will mark out areas of your body that could benefit from the treatment, and will show for how long and at which temperature the mud should be applied. Typically, the treatment will begin by laying on a bed and the staff covering the areas of your body prescribed, in the mud. The patient will then let the mud absorb in to the body and solidify for around ten minutes. The next phase is to wash the mud from the body, either by being rinsed in a shower or alternatively by sitting in a bath which takes slightly longer. What follows is a period of relaxation where the body is encouraged to perspire by being kept warm in a towel or blanket. After another ten minutes or so, the blood-pressure should have returned to its normal level and the treatment either ends there, or continues with a massage depending on what the doctor has prescribed. Mud therapy is used to help treat a number of diseases and ailments including arthrosis, arthritis, hernia and rheumatic cervical pain.
Wellness centres & spas in Ischia also perform a number of hydrotherapy treatments, amongst which is balneotherapy, a process whereby the body is immersed in thermal water for ten to twenty minutes at a temperature of around 38° Celcius. Balneotherapy is used to treat a wide range of conditions including rheumatism, rheumatoid fibrosis, rheumatoid tendonitis, lumbar pain, fibromyositis, eczema, quiescent psoriasis, acne and various types of dermatitis.
Ischia’s thermal water is also used in the practice of aerosol therapy (to treat rhinitis, pharyngitis, tonsillitis corditis, sinusitis and bronchial syndromes), physiotherapy and various other types of hydrotherapy such as the Kneipp method. Wellness centres also provide a range of massages from basic back massages, connective tissue massages or trigger-point massages through to various Vedic or Thai techniques, peelings or even yoga sessions.
The popularity of Ischia’s mud and thermal water has given rise to a number of organizations that produce related skincare and cosmetic products. Ischia Thermae for example, have a factory in the centre of Forio where they produce items such as mask exfoliators made from thermal mud. Ischia Thermae open their doors for visitors on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays with guided tours and product samples available as part of the visit.
Wellness, as a concept of healing mind, body and spirit is a growing interest and industry with more and more people understanding the sentiments behind it and the benefits that it can bring. With its golden beaches, historical sights and warm climate, Ischia is a haven for visitors looking to get away from their daily lives with a well-deserved break, but with the natural resources that this volcanic island has been blessed with providing a real health benefit, the true value of a visit to the island is felt long after leaving its pretty shores.
Dion Protani
Ischia Review
Dating back to 700BC when Ischia was first settled and discovered, the island’s natural volcanic activity has been harnessed for its curative powers. Archaeological digs have discovered that the Euboeans, the Greek tribe who were the very first people to live on the island, used the thermal water from the springs to treat the wounds of their injured soldiers who had returned from war. So revered was the power of the water, that temples to gods such as Apollo were built in its honour.
Throughout history, mankind has learned more about the thermal water of Ischia and understood how best to deploy it for the treatment of disease and also for its ability to restore the spirit. The Romans, renowned for their love of baths and spas, built “Thermae” on the island so that the public could benefit from the water’s many restorative qualities. Later in the island’s history, during the renaissance, a physician by the name of Giulio Iasolino, conducted various tests of the thermal waters on the island in order to better understand how it could be used to treat diseases of his era. With Iasolino’s positive reports about Ischia’s health benefits, the island became known as a centre for wellness and healing and was used by none other than Italian Risorgimento hero Giusseppe Garibaldi to heal his wounds after the battle of Aspromonte, a pivotal moment in Italian history.
The effect of modern-day tourism on the island has only served to improve and enhance the facilities that nature provided, so that Ischia can now be considered as one of the world’s leading destinations for wellness holidays. A large number of hotels on the island include the word “Terme” in their title, which means that they have their own well from which to draw the thermal water and use it in their spas and wellness centres. These spas and wellness centres provide a wide-range of treatments for mind, body and spirit, using a combination of the thermal water, mud, massages and other sophisticated techniques aimed at improving health and promoting relaxation.
In other parts of the island, natural phenomena such as hot springs and fumaroles have been nurtured over the years, so that they now provide visitors to the island with free facilities with which they can take advantage of both the health and relaxation benefits of the thermal water. The natural hot springs of Sorgeto for example, are a series of rock-pools in a small bay where the water is naturally heated by the volcanic activity from below, which allows bathers to spend the day sunbathing and relaxing in the different pools with their various temperatures. There are also natural springs such as those at Nitrodi where islanders and visitors are able to have showers in the naturally warm water, or even to collect it in bottles to use at home for the treatment of diseases and ailments.
Since the dawn of tourism on the island, a series of thermal parks and gardens have sprung-up all across the island in order to take advantage of the island’s natural volcanic resources to provide a relaxing or even fun day out. Parks such as Poseidon or Negombo have a wide range of swimming or bathing pools with temperatures ranging from around 20 to 40° Celcius which can be used as part of hydrotherapy or heliotherapy programs along with Kneipp baths, saunas, steam rooms and many other modern-day treatments.
At the centre of the treatment programs found in Ischia, is the use of mud. The mud is created by using a combination of the island’s thermal water and clay which is full of minerals that can be used to treat a wide range of diseases and ailments. The wellness centres first provide you with a health-check in order to establish whether or not the mud treatments will be beneficial to your health, (pregnant women or people with high blood-pressure for example are in most cases not permitted for this type of treatment). Once the tests have been carried-out, the wellness centre doctors will then prescribe you with a course of treatment.
The courses prescribed by the doctors will mark out areas of your body that could benefit from the treatment, and will show for how long and at which temperature the mud should be applied. Typically, the treatment will begin by laying on a bed and the staff covering the areas of your body prescribed, in the mud. The patient will then let the mud absorb in to the body and solidify for around ten minutes. The next phase is to wash the mud from the body, either by being rinsed in a shower or alternatively by sitting in a bath which takes slightly longer. What follows is a period of relaxation where the body is encouraged to perspire by being kept warm in a towel or blanket. After another ten minutes or so, the blood-pressure should have returned to its normal level and the treatment either ends there, or continues with a massage depending on what the doctor has prescribed. Mud therapy is used to help treat a number of diseases and ailments including arthrosis, arthritis, hernia and rheumatic cervical pain.
Wellness centres & spas in Ischia also perform a number of hydrotherapy treatments, amongst which is balneotherapy, a process whereby the body is immersed in thermal water for ten to twenty minutes at a temperature of around 38° Celcius. Balneotherapy is used to treat a wide range of conditions including rheumatism, rheumatoid fibrosis, rheumatoid tendonitis, lumbar pain, fibromyositis, eczema, quiescent psoriasis, acne and various types of dermatitis.
Ischia’s thermal water is also used in the practice of aerosol therapy (to treat rhinitis, pharyngitis, tonsillitis corditis, sinusitis and bronchial syndromes), physiotherapy and various other types of hydrotherapy such as the Kneipp method. Wellness centres also provide a range of massages from basic back massages, connective tissue massages or trigger-point massages through to various Vedic or Thai techniques, peelings or even yoga sessions.
The popularity of Ischia’s mud and thermal water has given rise to a number of organizations that produce related skincare and cosmetic products. Ischia Thermae for example, have a factory in the centre of Forio where they produce items such as mask exfoliators made from thermal mud. Ischia Thermae open their doors for visitors on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays with guided tours and product samples available as part of the visit.
Wellness, as a concept of healing mind, body and spirit is a growing interest and industry with more and more people understanding the sentiments behind it and the benefits that it can bring. With its golden beaches, historical sights and warm climate, Ischia is a haven for visitors looking to get away from their daily lives with a well-deserved break, but with the natural resources that this volcanic island has been blessed with providing a real health benefit, the true value of a visit to the island is felt long after leaving its pretty shores.
Dion Protani
Ischia Review
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