How a spa in the Italian countryside is renewing the centuries-old wellness treatment.

Being hosed down by a small and enthusiastic Italian woman wielding a frighteningly powerful seawater jet in the Puglian countryside might not sound like the most relaxing of pursuits, but at the Masseria San Domenico, it’s an experience worth seeking out.

Nestled quietly off the Adriatic coast between Bari and Ostuni in Puglia, Masseria San Domenico is 14th-century farmhouse that now serves as a five-star hotel and spa. A quietly intimate space with panoramic views of the coast and surrounding countryside, it’s a boutique hotel that feels more like a (rather well-to-do) nonna’s home. Puglia is already home to some of the world’s finest food and scenery, and the Masseria (the Italian or Sicilian name for a large farmhouse) with its traditional Apulian restaurants, surrounding olive groves and proximity to the sea, might just be one of the best places to experience it.

Masseria San Domenico’s real USP, however, is thalassotherapy. Otherwise known as “seawater therapy”, thalassotherapy (from the Greek word for “sea”) uses minerals from the sea (magnesium, iodide, calcium and potassium) through various treatments that are absorbed into the skin and are said to be effective at improving a bounty of conditions including eczema, psoriasis, stress and anxiety, and muscular pain as well as improving the appearance of skin and toning up flabby areas. Popular with the Romans, apparently, but also great for everyone from athletes to those with arthritis.

So far so New Age-y, but thalassotherapy has been around for centuries and is an undeniably effective way to relax. The Masseria’s thalatherm treatment involves being slathered  in a Dead Sea mud wrap which is then heated slowly by a machine that steams the skin to allow the minerals in the mud to get into your pores (this is not as Black Mirror as it sounds, we promise).

Other treatments the Masseria offers include being drizzled in olive oil (being treated like a fresh focaccia is underrated), scrubbed down with an exfoliating salve made from the grounds’ olive pits, wrapped in cooling seaweed, and being hosed down by something called the “thalgo jet”, a heavy stream of seawater that works as an effective massage as well as a cleansing treatment – you can choose the pressure, but be prepared to quite literally stand your ground if it’s on a higher setting.

The seawater from the spa is sourced underground, from 400m below sea level, and is funnelled into the hotel directly from the sea. We can’t speak to the medical effectiveness of the treatments, but I left the Masseria basically poreless and certainly more glowing than when I arrived (which was not very glowing). However, being doused in olive oil, encased in seaweed and washed away by the mineral-rich seawater was as pleasant a way to spend a week in Puglia as one could wish for.

masseriasandomenico.com

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