Thermal water: a healthy mix

Numerous studies have confirmed that the mineral water used in the Thermal Spas of GB Thermae Hotels comes from rain.

The water begins its journey in the north of Veneto, among the Lessini mountains and the Venetian Prealps. The rain falling in this area soaks through to the subsoil. It takes around 30 years to complete its underground route, which is 80 kilometers long, where it becomes enriched with lime, minerals and trace elements, before quickly rising to the surface in the Euganean spa area.

The thermal spring

The thermal water that surfaces from our springs has a temperature of around 86° C and is classified as salty-bromine-iodine hyper-thermal water. Its particular chemical and physical composition is why it relaxes the muscles, and has a draining and pain-relieving action that can be felt after even just a short soak.

Once cold, the water fills the pools of all our hotels and is also used for inhalation treatments. It i is the main and essential ingredient in our thermal mud and the exclusive Borile Experience range of cosmetic products.

Thermal clay

The solid ingredient that we add to our thermal water to create thermal mud consists of clay soil with a high organic humus content that we harvest from the beds of several small thermal lakes inside the Euganean Hills Regional Park.

How is thermal mud created?

Clay is stored inside special vats, which have thermal spring water continuously flowing through them.

Following a process that regulates time and methods, the ideal conditions are created to develop a living botanical ingredient, formed by specific families of thermophilic algae and cyanobacteria, which create a genuine natural medicine over a period of about two months.

First, the thermal water is used at its natural temperature from the spring: 86° C, and this intense heat is precious for neutralizing any bacteria in the clay.

Then it is left to cool at a constant temperature of around 40° C: this generates a nutrient broth where sunlight and the nitrogen in the water together create the ideal conditions for algae to grow. The clay thus becomes a living ingredient, packed with proteins and fats, and ready for treatment use.

Every Thermal Spa at GB Hotels has its own specific system to cure and mature the thermal mud.

DOC spa mud is a natural medicine, without additives or chemicals

The sheer number of anti- inflammatory and antioxidant substances produced by the algae as they grow transforms the spa mud into a natural remedy.

Specifically, the anti-inflammatory action has been tried and tested by the University of Padua and patented at the European level (ep 05100038) resulting higher than the specific drugs of reference and practically free from side effects.

Numerous scientific studies have looked at the therapeutic action of ripe DOC mud in slowing down the development of several osteo-articular and musculo-skeletal ailments.

How do the benefits of spa mud work?

Due to its nature, the mud is water resistant. But not oil resistant.

That's why cosmetic creams have a greasy formula: to allow it to penetrate the skin.

We have applied the same concept to our thermal mud, filling it with oily substances and algae, whose properties are passed through the skin and reach the body.

The greasy part of our thermal mud is completely natural and comes from the phytoactive algae that grow while the clay “matures” for two months in the thermal water.

Thermal mud contains a high percentage of active ingredients. When the body is covered in this mud, it absorbs the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties thanks to the rich, greasy consistency of the algae.

100% natural and beneficial effects: 0% chemicals using km zero water and mud.

The Fanghino: the thermal mud artisan

Thermal mud is a living element that needs to be kept alive and active.

And the task of checking and looking after the thermal mud is assigned to a fanghino, according to the Procedure for Abano Terme DOP Thermal Mud.

The fanghino [mud extractor] is the artisan who takes care of the thermal mud.

Every day, the fanghino checks:

• the ripeness of the thermal mud
• the temperature, flow and circulation of the water
• the growth of the algae

The fanghino mixes the mud by hand, revitalizing its most precious component: the algae. Just like a baker does with a sour dough starter.

It is the fanghino’s job to follow every stage in the mud's development, from the curing tanks through to its application. The fanghino fills buckets with the mature mud, which will then be used in the Spa. Every bucket weighs 25 kilos and it is taken straight to the treatment booths. On average, two buckets are used for every treatment.

The fanghino checks the temperature of the mud: before it can be used, it needs to be left to cool and rest, so that when it is applied it is around 42°-45° C according to the treatment type and to medical instructions.

At this point, the thermal mud is ready to release all of its benefits, thanks to the properties of the natural ingredients from which it is made, and to the constant care and attention of the fanghino, who has kept it alive and precious.