"The maintenance of these archaeological remains is expensive. As an extra source of income, its managers are considering including the visit in a tourist route along with The Walk through the Clouds of the Cathedral.
The Hotel Balneario de Lugo , which is located on the site of ancient Roman baths , is seeking new ways to finance the maintenance of these archaeological remains and the carrying out of new surveys.
"All the explorations are privately funded, so it is very expensive to maintain them and to be able to have them well adapted for tourism. We are considering the option of including the thermal baths in the visit to the Cathedral's Walk through the Clouds , so that we can cover their maintenance and expand the excavations," says a director of the Spa, Carmen Garaloces.
Boris Izaguirre records a programme about Roman Spain in Lugo
While this alternative is being considered, this accommodation changes the profile of its users in summer. It receives visits from younger couples or families who adapt to the thermal circuits or enjoy the more recreational area, made up of a jacuzzi and a swimming pool.
"During the year, we do work more with Imserso groups , but now in the summer people of all ages and from all over the world come. They don't just come for the medical benefits of our treatments, but also to disconnect from daily life," explains Carmen Garaloces .
The hidden treasure of the cathedral
The origin of this establishment dates back to the creation of the city of Lucus Augusti, when one of the largest spas in Europe was built on the banks of the Miño River. Today, the ancient Roman well that continues to expel thermal water is still preserved in the central courtyard. It is kept as a reminder, as three other wells are used for treatments.
The thermal water used is a mixture of water extracted from a well at 43 degrees and another at 21 degrees . Its sulphated-sodium, bicarbonate and hyperthermal waters have medicinal properties. They have therapeutic purposes for multiple conditions, such as respiratory conditions (pharyngitis, sinusitis or asthma).
In the respiratory room, clients breathe in minerals in the form of steam through ceramic tubes from Sargadelos . They also have more powerful systems such as nasal showers or nebulizers.
It has benefits for chronic rheumatism or for lower back and neck pain . Thermal circuits with circular showers, jet rooms and bubble baths treat these problems, along with mud, mud plates that provide heat and benefit the muscles and joints.
Skin diseases such as psoriasis or dermatitis improve with the treatments. They have a therapeutic glass, which opens the pores and cleans impurities from the dermis.
Beneath the Hotel Balneario de Lugo are the remains of the ancient Roman baths, dating back to the 1st century AD.
In the twenty treatment rooms surrounding the main courtyard of the Spa , patients are generally over 65 years old, who come for therapeutic purposes. The hotel has a medical consultation that all persons who come to the retreat for more than three days must go through, to evaluate their particular case and discuss any possible contradictions.
THERMAL BATHS. In the facilities, the semi-transparent glass windows reveal the ancient Roman thermal baths that lie beneath the current spa. Under the floor of the relaxation room, there is the Roman sudatio, an ancient illuminated sauna that allows you to see the conduits through which the steam traveled. To obtain the heat in the room, they heated the water in the furnius, the ancient ovens in which they increased the temperature of the thermal waters.
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Going down the stairs, we come to the two vaulted rooms known as the apodyterium (changing rooms). They still have their arches and niches that held ornamental and cultural objects. Following the path, we find what was the bathhouse, which, although in a worse state than the previous ones, preserves the remains of an old vault that covered this space.
During the excavations carried out to uncover these rooms, altars to the nymphs were found. These were small altars on which an act of grace or specific requests were inscribed. In this case, the cult is dedicated to the nymphs, divinities associated with mineral-medicinal waters. In the Greek tradition, the nymphs are identified as the daughters of Zeus . Among them were the Naïades, who inhabited the water courses. In Roman times, these divinities were more strongly assimilated in relation to the waters themselves. In their representations, they take the form of beautiful young women, leaning on one of their arms, in which they hold a jug from which the water flows.
The three altars found date back to the first century AD . On their stone surfaces, one can see the inscriptions of three Roman citizens giving thanks for their healing.
These remains are the only ones that have been recovered so far, small pieces of a large puzzle that is still incomplete. The remains of the palestra (gymnasium), at the entrance, and of a swimming pool, in the backyard, form the beginning of the excavations that would reveal another face of the ancient thermal baths."
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