Destination wellness

Italy is a land of surprises. Alongside its world-famous natural and artistic wonders, there are any number of lesser-known destinations of enormous historical and environmental interest, authentic jewels just waiting to be discovered. One of these is Ciociaria, a picturesque but vaguely defined region in the central Italian province of Frosinone renowned for its wealth of history and traditions and its hilly landscape dotted with chestnut trees and ancient villages. Immersed in this enchanting landscape stands the town of Fiuggi, nicknamed the “Pearl of Ciociaria”. Consisting of a mediaeval hilltop village and a modern spa resort located in the valley below, it is renowned in particular for the health benefits of its natural spring waters and was popular with historical figures such as Pope Boniface VIII and Michelangelo. Synonymous with health and wellness, the town offers a wide range of accommodation, shops and spa centres that meet the needs of increasingly discerning and well-informed visitors. One such establishment is the four-star Atlantic Park Hotel, one of the most popular hospitality venues in the area and the ideal location for a relaxing and pleasant stay. Located close to the town centre and the spa and just a few kilometres from the splendid Lake Canterno and the Simbruini Mountains Natural Park, the hotel is set in 2,000 square metre grounds and allows guests to enjoy a perfect combination of psychophysical wellbeing and relaxation immersed in nature. With fifty years of experience, the owners take a traditional approach to the concept of total quality. In addition to their 42 guest rooms and newly restored restaurant, they recently completed their range of offerings with an exclusive wellness centre called Aquae SPA equipped with a bio-sauna, Turkish bath, emotional showers, relaxation areas and an indoor swimming pool with whirlpool tub connected to an outdoor pool. The concept behind the project, coordinated by the architecture practice Studio di Architettura M+M, was to find a perfect balance between spatial management, a perfect choice of materials and technological innovation integrated into architecture with timeless aesthetics. With the aim of “transforming the client’s needs into emotions”, the designers achieved the desired level of aesthetics and performance of the centre through a choice of materials capable of recreating warm, natural and above all healthy spaces. Examples include the antibacterial vertical green wall, which acts as a natural air purifier, and the porcelain floor and wall tiles from Panaria Ceramica’s Prime Stone collection. The colours Greige Prime chosen for the outdoor floors and Silver Prime for indoors recreate a natural stone effect that blends in with the contemporary concrete surfaces and creates a perfect balance between modernity and old-fashioned charm. The Greige Prime version from the Zero.3 Prime Stone collection was used in a 100×300 cm size for a portion of the wall coverings. To add further appeal to the intimate atmosphere of the spa, the walls were clad with dark Marquina Black colour tiles from the Eternity collection, which takes the elegant texture of one of the most prestigious marbles found in nature and transforms it into a durable and versatile low-thickness porcelain laminate surface. Along with their sophisticated aesthetics, durability and safety, the tiles also offer the now essential antibacterial shield function of the Protect line. Developed in partnership with Microban®, a world leader in antimicrobial solutions, it is guaranteed to eliminate up to 99.9% of bacteria from the surface.