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Travel
La Dolce Vita
Picturesque spas throughout Tuscany and Florence give visitors a taste of the sweet life.
By Julie Keller
In the 1950s, following her marriage to Prince Rainier of Monaco, actress-turned-princess Grace Kelly spent several days of her honeymoon bathing in the healing natural thermal waters of Tuscany, Italy. While her fame was renowned, the long-time spa traditions of the region have remained relatively anonymous to modern-day spa-goers. Though Florence and the Tuscan countryside are not necessarily celebrated for their spa offerings, the picturesque region offers more than plentiful scenery, delicious wine and culinary options and invaluable artistic treasures. Thanks to relaxation retreats, both historic and modern, a splendid spa scene is just waiting to be discovered, providing travellers to Italy with a soothing break from fast-paced days visiting the acclaimed local sights.
Florence’s Spa Renaissance
The historic town of Florence has long been revered for its charming beauty and its centuries-long reputation as a haven for the arts. While its cup runneth over with artistic and architectural masterworks, the city had been lacking a sizeable luxury hotel spa. All that changed with the recent debut of the decadent Spa at Four Seasons Hotel Firenze. Set amid 3,000 square feet in the former farm depots and the lemon houses of the Gherardesca Gardens, the elegant two-level spa is a haven of inspired Florentine healing, featuring a neo-classical design complete with art, statues and ornamental columns.
Treatments are performed in one of the nine suites, each of which are named after the trees in the surrounding gardens, or in the stand-alone Melograno (or pomegranate) Spa Suite, which is ideal for couples looking for privacy and features a white marble steam shower complete with chromatherapy lights. The spa is also situated above the resort’s inviting 30- by 90-foot swimming pool and adjoining outside Jacuzzi, both of which are an ideal place to enjoy a refreshing dip either before or after treatments. Additionally, a complete line of treatments and products were created exclusively for the spa courtesy of a collaboration with the Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, one of the oldest pharmacies and officinal herbalists in the world and the makers of native Florentine and Queen of France Caterina de’ Medici’s signature fragrance. Still other services, such as the Chianti Relax massage with grapeseed oil, the Tuscan Cypress Scrub that uses native cypress nut to exfoliate and cypress oil to nourish, incorporate ingredients culled from the surrounding Tuscan countryside. “The concept of our spa is to give our guests the experience of living in Tuscany and Florence with typical products from the region,” says spa manager Lucia Papalini. “Our sensory massages feature oils blended from grape extracts and infused with the warm, rich fragrance of Chianti wine. Additionally, created from the herbs and flowers that grow on the hillsides surrounding Florence, the spa’s signature treatments are inspired by the iconic white Iris florentina, which is the emblem of the city.”
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Under the Tuscan Sun
Beyond Florence, the breathtaking bounty of Tuscany serves as inspiration for several spa havens throughout the region; an area that has a surprisingly storied spa past. “Spa-going in Italy is a tradition brought about during the Roman Empire, when citizens would go to the area’s thermal baths,” says Andrea Lucio Luri, general manager of Castello del Nero, a five-star luxury boutique hotel located in Tavarnelle Val di Pesa, in the heart of the Chianti area. The hotel is also home to an ESPA spa that pays homage to that heritage. “At Castello del Nero, we pride ourselves in perfecting and innovating this ancient ritual through the relaxation and the impeccable service.”
Surrounded by 700 acres of rolling Tuscan hills, the elegant Castello del Nero is located within a 12th-century castle. While offering state-of-the-art amenities, the 50-room property honours the grandeur of its past, featuring frescoes, family crests and vaulted ceilings, as well as views of the estate’s olive groves and vineyards, which are inhabited by pheasant, deer and wild boar.
The equally picturesque 3,600-square-foot spa has 10 treatment rooms, an outdoor vitality pool, double heat experiences for men and women including a laconium, a caldarium and a lifestyle shower, and double relaxation areas for men and women. “While you are in the relaxation area, you look out on the rolling Tuscan hills, vineyards and olive groves,” says Luri. “It certainly cannot get more local than that in terms of location. As far as treatments are concerned we use products grown organically in our gardens, such as rosemary and lavender, as well as olive oil, which is also produced on premises.”
Another elegant Tuscan escape is Il Loggiato, Villa and Spa, a private villa in Chianti managed by LaCURE Villas that includes an intimate three-treatment-room, 1,050-square-foot on-site spa. “If someone wants to be in Italy for the food, wine, culture and history and they would like to stay at a spa, Il Loggiato is absolutely the perfect solution,” says Pamela O’Shea Italian property manager for LaCURE Italy. “This is the most exclusive, desirable destination in Tuscany, and this private property is the best-kept secret in Chianti.”
Bathing Beauties
For Italians, in-the-know visitors, and, of course, the late Princess Grace, the long-time thermal bathing traditions of Tuscany are no secret. Thermal baths have been enjoyed throughout the region for hundreds of years, serving the bathing needs of the ancient Romans since Etruscan times and attracting luminaries looking for rejuvenation. Today, those healing waters still garner countless devotees, and several properties combine luxury with a therapeutic approach to spa.
Terme di Saturnia Spa & Golf Resort is found in the Maremman region of Tuscany, an area surrounded by ancient thermal waterfalls and baths. According to Roman mythology, the soothing, mineral-rich baths that populate the region were created after Saturn flew into a rage about the aggressive nature of man and threw a flash of lightning down to earth, causing a crater that was filled with calming, sulphurous warm water. Legend has it that the area soon became known for its calm, wise citizens who bathed there. This legendary tranquillity continues today at the elegant 140-room wellness-themed hotel complete with a Roman bath, a sauna and steam bath and a thermal park that includes hot-water swimming pools, waterfalls, Jacuzzi and waterways fed by an original spring. “Terme di Saturnia is situated in one of the most beautiful regions in the world,” says medical director Piergiorgio Calcaterra. “Located at the foot of the medieval village of Saturnia, the resort is surrounded by picturesque and untamed scenery, with fascinating archaeological sites and cultural trips, all within striking distance. In addition to our thermal springs, which are known for their healing effects and allow us to offer truly unique, medically-researched spa treatments, the region in which we are located offers some of the world’s best wines, cuisine and culture.”
The 50-treatment-room spa combines hydrotherapy, beauty services, stress management programs, diet and fitness. “Terme di Saturnia Spa & Golf Resort offers guests a unique and enlightening travel experience with programs, cuisine and a daily mantra geared toward the promotion of a fulfilling and healthy Mediterranean lifestyle, for which the entire region of Tuscany thrives by,” says Calcaterra. “Finding the perfect blend of work and leisure, food and friends is the goal with an age-old idea of the Mediterranean way of life, promoting physical activity and taking the time to enjoy the small pleasures of life.”
According to Calcaterra, the Mediterranean lifestyle is centred on three different elements—balance, activity and diet, and Terme di Saturnia has created personalized and specialized programs to help guests strike the equal balance between each of these elements. To further promote this mantra, the resort offers a Mediterranean Lifestyle Guest Package, featuring spa treatments, cuisine and activities centred upon this philosophy.
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In addition to the Mediterranean Lifestyle concept, several aspects of the resort’s spa are based on the natural thermal waters found in the thermal pools. The programs and treatments capitalize on the healing qualities of the sulphurous thermal mineral water. “The distinguishing characteristic of Saturnia’s water is the presence of large quantities of hydrogen-sulphide and carbon-dioxide gasses, which have a relaxing and antioxidant effects on the body, help circulation, oxygenate the skin and put one in a better frame of mind,” says Calcaterra. “According to the dictates of ancient therapeutics, all the thermal cures of Saturnia strive for total well-being, working on the root causes of the trouble spots by means of methods linked to heat, the symbolic senses and the beneficial properties of the water.”
Another hydrotherapy haven in the heart of Tuscany is Adler Thermae Spa Resort, a luxury property near the romantic village of Bagno Vignoni, in the fertile Val d’Orcia in Tuscany amid rolling hills and groves of olive and cypress trees. Another historic spa town, Bagno Vignoni has long provided curative waters to travellers, and that tradition has continued since 2004 with the debut of Adler Thermae. “Adler Thermae Spa is located in one of the most beautiful landscapes of Tuscany, in the heart of Orcia Valley, which has been declared World heritage from UNESCO for its unique beauty,” says spa manager says Minnie Romano.
Spa-goers can soak in the alkaline-, bicarbonate- and sulphate-rich waters there or take advantage of more than 300 soothing spa treatments in the 23-treatment-room spa. “Adler offers a spa menu that can satisfy every need, from beauty treatments to health checkups, consultations on natural therapies and remedies,” she adds.
Many services, such as the Red Grape Facial Treatment, the Body Treatment with Olive Oil-Nourishing and Draining, the Body Treatment with Milk and Honey and the Adler Massage with Grape Seed Oil, incorporate local ingredients, passing along long-revered Mediterranean health and beauty traditions to guests from around the globe. “Precious ingredients like olive oil, grapes and wine, milk and honey are used in many treatments for their anti-oxidant and nourishing powers,” says Romano.
Just west of Siena, Borgo La Bagnia is a 2,700-acre a medieval estate complete with a hotel, a golf course, and the Buddha Spa Wellness Centre. This expansive spa offers several elements that take advantage of the region’s hydrotherapy traditions and thermal spring water, including a hammam, sauna, indoor heated pool with Jacuzzi and outdoor thermal water pool. A wide range of services, many of which incorporate products from the Italian skincare line Comfort Zone, are also available, ranging from skin care treatments and bodycare services to a selection of globally inspired massages, including shiatsu, ayurvedic, reflexology, hot stone, and more.
Several other villages in Tuscany also offer thermal baths and spas, including Bagni di Pisa Natural Spa Resort and Terme di Casciana in Pisa and Terme Antica Querciolaia, Terme di Chianciano and Terme San Filippo in Siena, just to name a few. But no matter where vacationers choose to spa, the entire region offers a treasure trove of relaxation riches. Says Adler Thermae’s Romano, “Florence and Tuscany offer the perfect scenery for a spa vacation that combines relaxation, beauty treatments and healing therapeutic waters with a taste of Italian dolce vita with good food, cultural experiences and amazing landscapes.”
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