Temazcal, Kotatsu feature at new Apostoli-designed Italian spa

– Alberto Apostoli
A new spa experience in Montegrotto Terme, Italy integrates spa treatments, ayurvedic medicine and fitness, along with traditional experiences from as far away as South America and Japan.
Neró Spa, located a few kilometres from Padua and Venice, will have an official opening from the 24th to the 27th of October 2019, which will involve four days of meetings, readings and music dedicated to health and wellbeing.
The new spa has been designed by Studio Apostoli, and created overlooking a centuries-old park, where guests can admire the vapors rising from the panoramic thermal pools, which are open until midnight.
The 1,200sq m spa is in addition to the two outdoor thermal pools and the two indoor covered pools equipped with whirlpools and cervical waterfalls, for a total water course of over 500sq m.
Neró Spa is described by the designers as “a multipurpose, holistic and avant-garde spa, conceived as a work of art and an expression of the history of the location and the nature of a territory, which for millennia knows and values the therapeutic qualities of its waters, becoming a harmonious union amongst spa, territory and art.”
Thermal treatments use the properties of the salsobromoiodic waters and natural mud from the Abano and Montegrotto Terme thermal basin.
The spa also includes aesthetic treatments, exclusive rituals with made in Italy wild Phyto cosmetic products, an entire area dedicated to ayurvedic medicine, private spas and fitness equipment from Technogym.
The predominant use of glass in the spa’s architecture offers guests the feeling of being fully immersed in the scenery of the Colli Euganei Regional Park, while design elements using natural materials, such as wood, aim to create a dialogue with the environment and land.
Water acts as a recurring theme for wellbeing at the spa; a large contoured water basin is at the centre of the spa, and is surrounded by an LED immersion lighting system, while a vertical wall of water located at the spa entrance was created to feed the basin.
The Finnish sauna will host rituals executed by Aufguss masters, while a Turkish bath features heated benches made from naturally treated Ecomalta. The hammam, completely made in Guatemala Green marble, features a large glass front wall, and a cylindrical salt cabin features floor, walls, ceiling and seats completely covered in salt and featuring a backlit wall in pink salt tiles.
The spa also includes a series of shower paths along with a Kneipp path, which is composed of three circular elements containing cold and warm water for contrast therapy. A saline pool allows guests to enjoy floating therapies thanks to its high saline content.
Unusual in Italy, the spa also features both a Temazcal and the Kotatsu – two facilities with roots in far-away cultures.
The Temazcal is a circular, dome-shaped building with ancient origins in pre-Columbian South American civilizations. Used to restore wellbeing and health, with healing and purification properties, the Temazcal is embellished with cedar wood seats of a unique shape, which provide warmth and a natural wood fragrance.
The Kotatsu is a Japanese cultural tradition. Located in the relaxation room, it is composed of a circular bench and a central table from which it is possible to enjoy herbal teas and infusions while keeping the legs in a low central basin.
In the wellness centre there are also five massage rooms, two face treatment stations, two hand stations and three ayurveda cabins.
The private spa for couple’s rituals includes the versatile modular model ‘Sasha’, designed by Apostoli for Jacuzzi, which includes a sauna, a steam bath and an emotional shower, and the Aqualite wall-mounted washbasin mixer designed by Alberto Apostoli for Newform. A hot tub completes the private spa.
The wide range of thermal, mud and body treatments is enriched by ayurvedic experiences, including the Abhyanga and Udvartana massages, the Shirodhara therapy, the Swedana treatment and a new line of five rituals signed by Terme Preistoriche, with personal itineraries.
Neró Spa New Experience also includes a focus on art, through the theatrical dimension of the wellness centre along with an art gallery, which marks the passage from one area to another.
Temazcal Kotatsu Studio Apostoli Italy spa wellness hammam Kneipp Technogym



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