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Spa Centre
Phytothermotherapy is a traditional spa treatment typical of some alpine areas in Austria, the South Tyrol and Trentino: there is evidence of its use as early as the beginning of the 19th century, but the existence of actual centres for the treatment, such as Garniga, in Trentino, dates back to the end of the same century, in 1895.
Until just a few years ago, no serious studies using modern scientific criteria had been conducted on the therapeutic practice of the hay bath, with the aim of verifying how effective it was and how well patients are able to tolerate the treatment. This gap in our scientific knowledge was filled in the 1990s, thanks to a study carried out at Terme di Garniga by a team composed of doctors and botanists from the University of Camerino and agronomists from the University of Florence. The medical research, carried out in collaboration with the Department of Rheumatology of the University of Verona, demonstrated the contribution these treatments can make to dealing with a large number of rheumatic disorders. In the years since then, many other medical and scientific studies have amply borne out the results of this initial research.
Terme di Garniga is the only spa centre in Italy specialising in phytothermotherapy. Most of the grass used comes from the grasslands of Monte Bondone, at an altitude of between 1200 and 1500 m asl. This grass, particularly rich in flora - the most significant species present include gentian, arnica, St John's wort, thyme, alpine dandelion, carline thistle and pasqueflower – is gathered in the mountains and brought down to the valley before it dries out.
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