Soaking in the thermal landscapes: a slow tour across the Italian inner territories

Abstract

Crossing the Italian inner territories offers the opportunity to describe no longer their marginali- ty, but to narrate their human and natural resources and, among many, the water: this journey through the Italian thermal landscapes aims to unveil how the landscape is a collective good to be protected, but also a unique opportunity for territorial regeneration. The discovery of the curative properties of some waters – which derive from their deep flow through mineral layers – is intercrossed by history and myth, but their rediscovery is nowadays more relevant than ever for a slow, experiential, sustainable, and inclusive fruition. In the disconnected system of inner rural and mountain territories, the thermal baths can be an opportunity to rediscover and reconnect with nature and wellbeing: they can be places to stay, to be reached for the physical and spiritual rehabilitation, to experience landscapes where to immerse, remain and return.