Biological life is born in water and in water man has always found a source of physical and mental well-being. Since Greek and Roman times, plunging into hot springs or enjoying the warmth of steam has been a sort of “magical” practice with a deep symbolic and cultural value.
Ancient Greeks attributed supernatural powers to hot waters and their vapors, considering the thermal baths as means of restoration to health indicated by the gods themselves. In the V century BC Hippocrates wrote the Corpus Hippocraticum, the first medical treatise in history which described in detail the hygienic and healing effects of thermal waters and the consequent well-being in the human body.
If thermalism was born in Ancient Greece, it was only in Roman times that it truly experienced its golden age with the construction of the Thermae (from the Greek thermòs – “heat”). These magnificent public buildings became real social centers, places of leisure and conversations. The word “Spa” probably derives from the latin expression “Salus Per Aquam“ (health through water), as thermal waters were recommended for their therapeutical properties which ensured a healthier and longer life.
During the Middle Ages the progressive decline of the Roman Empire, barbarian invasions, and the spread of Christianity led to a downturn in the fortune of the thermal baths, which progressively lost their social value. if on one hand the clergy condemned promiscuity and public nudity – believing that washing facilitated intercourse and therefore the loss of chastity –, nonetheless on the other physicians continued to study the different types of thermal waters and their specific clinical indications, leading to the birth of medical hydrology.
