Announcement / Short Review of: Patricia Erfurt, The Geoheritage of Hot Springs, 2021 (original) (raw)

From illness to wellness-has thermal spring health tourism reached a new turning point?

2014

Thermal spring health resorts around the world are repositioning themselves by moving away from medical treatments, and moving towards fitness and wellness, often accompanied by an increase in facilities for recreation. It is suggested in this paper that this represents a turning point for the thermal spring health tourism product, with the focus changing from using thermal water primarily for the treatment of illnesses, to helping already healthy people become even healthier. In the light of current developments, the historical development and geographical distribution of thermal spring tourism is discussed, with new developments highlighted, particularly those involving local communities. A historical overview of thermal spring health tourism is provided, starting with the ancient Greeks and their belief in the healing powers of water, and Roman bathing culture, where a symbiotic relationship between health and recreation developed. Recent trends in thermal spring tourism in most ...

Gallois, R. W. 2007. The formation of the hot springs at Bath Spa, UK.

Geological Magazine, 2007

The hot springs that emerge at 46ºC in the centre of Bath Spa, Somerset are unique in the UK. The four other thermal springs in Britain are also sourced in the Carboniferous Limestone, but they emerge at significantly lower temperatures (20° to 28ºC). Bath is situated in a region of low geothermal gradient (c 20°C/km depth) in a geological setting that seems an unlikely place for hot springs. Why then are these the only hot springs in Britain, and why are they confined to such a small (20 x 80 m) area? The explanation presented here involves a sequence of geological events involving Triassic dissolution and Pleistocene permafrost that is unique to central Bat

The Geoheritage of Hot Springs

Geoheritage, Geoparks and Geotourism, 2021

The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.

History of the Baths and Thermal Medicine

Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences, 2017

Hot Springs and Thermal Medicine are an important cultural background all around the world. The authors briefly describe the history of the spa from its origins to today.

The Common Ground of Thermal Baths

Water and Society IV, 2017

To consider water as a common good means to intend to address not only the natural resource, but also the ability to use it and the rights that a community has to enjoy that resource. Furthermore, water is seen not only as the basis for human existence, but also as a source of metaphysical symbolism, aesthetic pleasure, having therapeutic values. In fact, water is closely linked to the concept of the bath in both its main forms: one devoted exclusively to cleaning, a personal and private matter; and the other as a restoring activity and the centre of social life and of the community. To this second category belong the thermal baths that are able to reveal, through different forms, local traditions and identities. Sardinia is one of the most promising regions of Italy for the exploitation of geothermal resources, with the presence of numerous thermal sources. Thermal springs, spread over the island's territory, revealing their ancient origins with different characteristics: sites included in consolidated urban contexts (Sardara, Fordongianus) and point elements scattered throughout the landscape (Benetutti, Dorgali) represent the memory of structures that over the centuries have constituted important opportunities to generate spaces for the community. This paper illustrates, within the thermal bath system of Sardinia, three cases where the thermal waters can be considered a common good, while also investigating the relationship between spatial structures and the resource management process.

The Importance of Natural Geothermal Resources in Tourism

2010

The use of geothermal or hot springs dates back several thousands of years. Thermal bathing facilities exist in many countries and have a significant and longstanding reputation for successful health and wellness treatments based on the use of geothermal waters sourced from natural hot springs. Over time hot spring spas and resorts have come and gone, but since the wellness movement has taken a firm hold in the late 20 th Century, many hot spring spas, some after years of decline, have undergone modernisation and redevelopment of their facilities. Today health and wellness spa tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors of world tourism. The recreational use of geothermal springs in resorts and water parks combined with access to medical thermalism significantly adds to the standard attractions offered by many holiday destinations. Associated geothermal phenomena such as boiling lakes, mud ponds, and erupting geysers have also fascinated people wherever they occur and many have be...

SHALL WE GO «AD AQUAS»? PUTTING ROMAN HEALING SPAS ON THE MAP

ETF, 2019

Bathing constructions are currently one of the better preserved and studied monuments of the Roman Empire. Nevertheless, there remains a significant research gap as to the nature of water exploited within. The mineral-medicinal waters, in fact, conditioned not only the location, but also the function and, consequently, the architecture of these features. Hence, one of the main objectives of our current study is to highlight some of the main architectonic and functional characteristics of these bathing complexes from a selection of the better preserved and/or better documented spas using mineral-medicinal waters in the Roman Empire (henceforth referred to as healing or thermal spas/baths). This paper thus presents an initial distribution map, reviews the current state of research on this subject as well as some of the drawbacks to their study.