Comfort center at Villa Arconati

Politecnico di Milano Faculty of Design

Master of Science in Interior and Spatial Design A.A. 2017/2018

Tutor: Prof. Gisella Veronese CO - Tutor: Arch. Andrea Borghi Student: Phuong-Thao Nguyen Matricola: 849913

INDEX

ABSTRACT

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

LIFE STYLE AND HEALTH

WELLNESS AND TOURISM

1.1 What is lifestyle?

1.1.1 Elements that can identify life-style

1.2 Lifestyle and health

1.2.1 Factors that influence health 1.3 Lifestyle medicine

2.1 What is wellness tourism? 2.1.1 How does a wellness conscious consumer travel?

2.2 Wellness tourism in the world 2.2.1 Spiritual retreats

2.2.2 Exercise and fitness vacation 2.2.3 Destination spa and wellness resort

2.3 Wellness tourism in Europe 2.3.1 Italy – an interesting destination for wellness holiday

2.3.1.1 Case studies

2.4 The future of wellness tourism

01 01 02 02 03 04 10 13 14 15 18 20 22 24 25 44

3.5 Development 3.5.1 Hotel 3.5.1.1 Family suite 3.5.1.2 Duplex suite 3.5.1.3 Junior suite 3.5.2 Spa

INDEX

BIBLIOGRAPHY

CHAPTER 3

PROJECT

3.2 History of Villa Arconati

3.2.1 Villa Arconati as a Villa di Delizia 3.2.2 The Village 3.3 The Borgo 3.4 The Concept 46 50 50 53 54 58 60 66 68 71 81 86 100

abstract

In modern society, people are facing new challenges in everyday life. Emerg-ing new technologies and social net-work has brought us convenience and productivity but, at the same time, also create more burdens that may threaten our health. Moreover, unhealthy diet, addictions, stress and so on, are the pre-sentations of an negative lifestyle that are gradually getting more dominant, which in turn affect our health, both physically and mentally.

Under such condition, everyone needs a space to relieve stress and recollect positive values of his life. Therefore, wellness holiday exists to solve that problem. Nowadays, that service could be a spiritual retreat, an exercise, fitness vacation and destination spa, or a

well--ness resort, etc. Comfort center is con-sidered as one, which provides the ideal environment to help people to tempo-rarily relieve their burden and focus on their inner values, thus improving their daily life.

There are many comfort centers in Italy that offer people with an intensive detox to refresh and rejuvenate, like a weight-loss retreat. In Italy, some comfort cen-ters are newly built, some are restored from old buildings such as villas, castles, which are ideally far away from big cities and close to nature. Old buildings inher-it the spirinher-it of local archinher-itecture and that is a mystery which attracts tourists to ex-plore and learn about. Visiting a country rich in culture and history like Italy, tour-ist would prefer to visit such buildings.

With those aforementioned values, old buildings in Italy should be studied to be restored in a way that they could coexist with combination between modern and traditional context, and contribute to tourism as a comfort center which helps p eople optimize their energy and man-age their lifestyle positively. This is the main aim of my thesis.

Key words: comfort center, Villa Arcona-ti, lifestyle, wellness, tourism, tradition, modern.

chapter 1

chapter 1

LIFE STYLE AND HEALTH

The term “lifestyle” was introduced by Austrian psychologist Alfred Adler with the meaning of “a person’s basic character as established early in childhood” (1), for example in his 1929 book “The Case of Miss R.”The broader sense of lifestyle as a “way or style of living” has been documented since 1961. Lifestyle is re-ferred to the characteristics of inhabitants of a region in special time and place. It includes day to day behaviors and functions of individuals in job, activities, fun and diet. In other hand, life-style is the interests, opinions, behaviors, and behavioral ori-entations of an individual, group, or culture. In fact, a lifestyle typically reflects an individual’s attitudes, way of life, values. Therefore, a lifestyle is a means of forging a sense of self and to create cultural symbols that resonate with personal identity. Surrounding social and technical systems can constrain the life-style choices available to the individual and the symbols she/ he is able to project to others and the self. For example, “green lifestyle” means holding beliefs and engaging in activities that consume fewer resources and produce less harmful waste (i.e. a smaller ecological footprint), and deriving a sense of self from holding these beliefs and engaging in these activities. Some

commentators argue that, in modernity, the cornerstone of life-style construction is consumption behavior, which offers the possibility to create and further individualize the self with dif-ferent products or services that signal difdif-ferent ways of life.

. Behavior

Analysis of lifestyles as action profiles is characterized by the fact that it no longer considers the action level as a simple derivative of lifestyles, or at least as their collateral component, but rather as a constitutive element. Some authors, for instance Richard Jenkins and A. J. Veal, suggested an approach to life-styles in which it is not everyday actions which make up the plane of analysis but those which the actors who adopt them consider particularly meaningful and distinctive.

1.2 Lifestyle and health

As far as we know that Lifestyle is referred to the character-istics of inhabitants of a region in special time and place. It in-cludes day to day behaviors and functions of individuals in job, activities, fun and diet. In recent decades, life style as an import-ant factor of health is more interested by researchers. According to WHO, 60% of related factors to individual health and quality of life are correlated to lifestyle Millions of people follow an un-healthy lifestyle (3). Hence, they encounter illness, disability and even death. Problems like metabolic diseases, joint and skeletal problems, cardio-vascular diseases, hypertension, overweight, violence and so on, can be caused by an unhealthy lifestyle. The relationship of lifestyle and health should be highly considered. Today, wide changes have occurred in life of all people. Mal-nutrition, unhealthy diet, smoking, alcohol consuming, drug abuse, stress and so on, are the presentations of unhealthy life style that they are used as dominant form of lifestyle. Besides, the lives of citizens face with new challenges. For instance, emerging new technologies within IT such as the internet and virtual communication networks, lead our world to a major challenge that threatens the physical and mental health of 1.1.1 Elements that can identify lifestyle

. Social position

Max Weber - German sociologist claim lifestyles as distinc-tive elements of status groups strictly connected with a dialectic of recognition of prestige: the lifestyle is the most visible man-ifestation of social differentiation, even within the same social class, and in particular it shows the prestige which the individ-uals believe they enjoy or to which they aspire. However, Pierre Bourdieu - a French sociologist renews this approach within a more complex model in which lifestyles, made up mainly of social practices and closely tied to individual tastes, represent the basic point of intersection between thestructure of the field and processes connected with the habitus (2).

. Way of thinking

The approach interpreting lifestyles as principally styles of thought has its roots in the soil of psychological analysis. With Daniel Yankelovich and William Wells - social scientist, the so-called AIO approach in which attitudes, interests and opinions are considered as fundamental lifestyles’ components, being analyzed from both synchronic and diachronic points of view and interpreted on the basis of socio-cultural trends in a given social context. Therefore, a further development leads to the so-called profiles-and-trends approach, at the core of which is an analysis of the relations between mental and behavioral variables, bearing in mind that socio-cultural trends influence both the diffusion of various lifestyles within a population and the emerging of different modalities of interaction between thought and action.

individuals. The challenge is the overuse and misuse of the technology. Therefore, lifestyle has a significant influence on physical and mental health of human being.

There are different forms of such influences. Consanguinity in some ethnicity is a dominant form of life style that it leads to the genetic disorders. Reformation of this unhealthy life style is a preventing factor for decreasing the rate of genetic diseases. In some countries, the overuse of drugs is a major unhealthy life style.

1.2.1 Factors that influence health

There are 7 factors of the lifestyle effect on health

- Diet and Body Mass Index (BMI): Diet is the greatest factor in lifestyle and has a direct and positive relation with health. Poor diet and its consequences like obesity is the com-mon healthy problem in urban societies. Unhealthy lifestyle can be measured by BMI. Urban lifestyle leads to the nutrition prob-lems like using fast foods and poor foods, increasing probprob-lems like cardiovascular (4).

- Exercise: For treating general health problems, the exer-cise is included in life style. The continuous exerexer-cise along with a healthy diet increases the health. Some studies stress on the relation of active life style with happiness (5) .

- Sleep: One of the bases of healthy life is the sleep. Sleep cannot be apart from life. Sleep disorders have several social, psychological, economical and healthy consequences. Lifestyle may effect on sleep and sleep has a clear influence on mental and physical health (6).

- Substance abuse: Addiction is considered as an un-healthy life style. Smoking and using other substance may re-sult in various problems; cardiovascular disease, asthma, can-cer, brain injury. According to the resent studies in Iran, 43% of females and 64% of males experience the use of hubble-bubble. A longitudinal study shows that 30% of people between 18–65 years old smoke cigarette permanently (7).

- Application of modern technologies: Advanced tech-nology facilitates the life of human beings. Misuse of techtech-nology may result in unpleasant consequences. For example, using of computer and other devices up to midnight, may effect on the pattern of sleep and it may disturb sleep. Addiction to use mo-bile phone is related to depression symptoms (8).

Fig.2 Lifestyle and health

4. Mozaffarian D, Hao T, Rimm EB, Willett W, Hu FB. (2011). Changes in diet and life style and long term weight gain in women & men. N Eng Med J, 364: 2392–2404

5. Dunn AL, Anderson RE, Jakicic JM. (1998). Lifestyle physical activity interventions: history, short and long term effects and recom-mendations. Am J Preven Med, 15 (4): 398– 412.

6. Farhud DD, Tahavorgar A. (2013). Melatonin hormone, metabolism & its clinical effects: a review. Iran J Endocrinol Metabol, 15 (2): 221– 236 (In Persian)

7. Ebrat news (2013). Frequency of using cigarette in adolescents: awareness of authority

8. Thomee S, Harenstam A, Hagberg M. (2011). Mobile phone use and stress, sleep disturbances, and symptom of depression among young adults. BMC Public Health, 11: 66–77.

- Recreation: Leisure pass time is a sub factor of life style. Neglecting leisure can bring negative consequences. With disor-ganized planning and unhealthy leisure, people endanger their health.

- Study: Study is the exercise of soul. Placing study as a factor in lifestyle may lead to more physical and mental health. For example, prevalence of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s dis-ease is lower in educated people. Study could slow process of dementia.

Fig.3 Lifestyle impacts on health

1.3 Lifestyle medicine

Lifestyle medicine is an evolving approach to patient care that focuses on comprehensive, evidence-based health assess-ment and natural treatassess-ment approaches. Although the use of the term “lifestyle medicine” is new, in many ways the practice of lifestyle medicine returns the health care provider to core health care concepts that have been in existence for years, but have recently gained increasingly large bodies of scientific evi-dence supporting their practice.

There are many definitions of lifestyle medicine. The broad-est-based denotation states, “Lifestyle medicine is the evi-dence-based practice of helping individuals and families adopt and sustain healthy behaviors that affect health and quality of life. Examples of target patient behaviors include but are not limited to eliminating tobacco use, improving diet, increasing physical activity, and moderating alcohol consumption.”(9)

Lifestyle medicine includes a thorough assessment of an indi-vidual’s current health habits, development of individualized treatment plans, and implementation of individual, group, and community resources that assist in health behavior change. Lifestyle medicine approaches can be used in primary, second-ary, and tertiary prevention arenas — it can prevent the devel-opment of disease risk factors, modify risk factors when they are already present, and treat disease if risk factors have pro-gressed to that level. Lifestyle medicine focuses on recognizing and treating the causes of disease, not just the symptoms.(10)

Most lifestyle medicine definitions refer to the use of life-style interventions in the prevention and treatment of chronic disease. Lifestyle interventions are generally considered to be activities that are a common part of the human condition but are frequently not practiced in the manner that is known to

05 maximize health. The most common of these lifestyle

interven-tions is the proper use of food and nutrition. How an individual eats and takes in nutrients can greatly affect his or her health both on a short- and long-term basis. Interventions by health care providers that improve diet and nutrition should be foun-dational too much of both acute and chronic care. The second most frequently mentioned lifestyle intervention is physical ac-tivity. Evidence that increased physical activity improves health and wellbeing is strong. Health care providers can influence participation in physical activity, thereby strengthening an indi-vidual’s health status. Other lifestyle factors that are frequently mentioned include rest and proper sleep as well as the devel-opment of stress management tools including balanced so-cial, emotional, and spiritual support systems. Finally, at times individuals make choices that are detrimental to their health, such as smoking or drinking too much alcohol. In these cases, lifestyle interventions are focused on assisting individuals in removing these exposures. Classic examples of these types of interventions are smoking cessation counseling and limiting al-cohol use to moderate levels.

Moreover, as far as we know that lifestyle medicine — ad-justing nutrition, physical activity, and rest to maximize health — has existed since the first time a human felt unwell. Around 400 B.C., Hippocrates summarized health and healing, stating, “The natural force within each one of us is the greatest force in getting well. Our food should be our medicine, our medicine should be our food ... food and exercise ... work together to pro-duce health.” (11). More than 2000 years later, these concepts were still dominant when Thomas Edison hypothesized, “the doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will instruct his patient in the care of the human frame, in diet and the cause

and prevention of disease.”

From a lifestyle medicine perspective, there are three sig-nificant concerns around how the typical physician approaches chronic disease care. The first is initial identification of the value of a therapeutic lifestyle change for a particular patient with a diagnosed disease. The majority of physicians do not routinely screen for lifestyle activities and change opportunities in pa-tients who have ongoing disease states. Despite the prevalence of chronic maladies, the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) has found that less than one-fourth of patients report having ever received any nutrition or physical activity counseling from their physician (12). Especially problematic is the under-recog-nition by physicians of the importance of weight loss in disease prevention and treatment. Only two in five obese patients re-ceive any advice to lose weight, even when they have chronic diseases that are clearly worsened by their obesity (13; 14) So, the first problem the typical physician deals with is consistently recognizing that therapeutic lifestyle change is the treatment of choice for the patient in front of him or her.

The second improvement opportunity for the typical prima-ry care physician relates to the fact that even when the average health care provider clearly recognizes that a particular patient would benefit from a significant change in lifestyle, he or she frequently doesn’t fully advise the patient on either medical is-sues or specific concerns. Even those with known lifestyle-relat-ed diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia received counseling only 30-45% of the time. The likelihood of receiving lifestyle modification advice decreases with age, for women, and for established patients (15; 16). No more than 25% of patients who do receive counseling around weight loss are provided specific advice on dietary fat or physical activity (17;

11. Hippocrates, Regimen, 460-377 BC.

12. Honda K. Factors underlying variation in receipt of physician advice on diet and exercise: Applications of the behavioral model of health care utilization. Am J Health Promot 2004; 18:370-377.

14. Nawaz H, Adams ML, Katz DL. Weight loss counseling by health care providers. Am J Public Health 1999; 89:764-767. 15. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Quick Stats: Estimated Percentage of Patients Aged >45 Years Who Received Exercise Counseling from Their Primary-Care Physicians, by Sex and Age Group — National Ambulatory Medical

16).No more than 25% of patients who do receive counseling around weight loss are provided specific advice on dietary fat or physical activity (17; 18). Patients are especially unsatisfied with what and how the health care provider approaches weight loss compared to health care in general (19). In one study, only half of those with weight problems reported receiving specific weight-loss strategies, and three-quarters of these had little confidence in the ability of their physician to give useful advice(20).

The third lifestyle medicine concern is that even when pa-tients who could benefit from a therapeutic lifestyle change are adequately screened, identified, and given focused advice on health behavior change, they are not given adequate tools with which to implement their healthy behavior goals. Physi-cians must move beyond the tendency to give simple advice. A brief educational exchange is most commonly not enough to produce sustained behavior change (21). Development of a per-sonalized lifestyle change plan that includes specific lifestyle medicine prescriptions, team support, and the use of commu-nity resources needs to be incorporated into all chronic disease care.

As discussed above, implementing a comprehensive health habits assessment is the critical first step in all risk factor fo-cused approaches to lifestyle change. Once the assessment data are obtained, there are some key considerations for each of the core lifestyle interventions.

Nutrition. An understanding of nutrition is foundational for the health care provider who practices lifestyle medicine. What appears to be the greatest challenge in the area of nutrition is clarity on what is the optimal diet. When a high-level overview is taken, however, recommendations from numerous national

organizations create a common set of themes (22; 23). The first is an emphasis on whole foods. Whole foods are best described as food that is consumed fresh, in its natural state. Any move-ment toward slicing, grinding, or preserving starts food down the processing pathway. Further, processing may include ex-tracting certain portions of the food or adding manufactured coloring, flavoring, or texturizing. These steps change the con-text with which nutrients enter the body, decreasing their bio-chemical value. Classic whole foods that are readily available, economical, and clearly beneficial to health include all varieties of vegetables, fruits, and legumes.

Physical Activity. The ideal standards for physical activ-ity recommendations are clearer than the ideals for nutrition. The value of physical activity goes beyond traditional exercise programs. Incorporating movement such as walking and stair climbing into activities of daily living and involvement in rec-reational pursuits that require exertion also provide long-term health benefits. Patients who have negative perceptions of ex-ercise may

be more open to physical activity prescriptions that incorporate atypical movement endeavors.

Rest. The core rest recommendation is 7-8 hours of sleep each night (24). Individuals who are able to incorporate naps or siestas into their daily life (25) as well as meditation and relax-ation techniques have decreased morbidity and mortality (26). Inclusion of sleep and self-care as a component of a health hab-it questionnaire brings significant insights into a patient’s stress and coping mechanisms. Because stress reactions are so close-ly related to sleep patterns, lifestyle prescriptions for increased meditation and relaxation techniques are the initial treatment of choice for insomnia (27). Incorporation of rest and renewal

07 into a patient’s daily life frequently requires an understanding of a patient’s spiritual resources and perspective on life.

Nutrition, physical activity, and rest prescriptions are the most common lifestyle interventions. Modifications of numerous other basic approaches to living also can be beneficial. Elimination of substance abuse is an important area. Cigarette smoking continues to be one of the greatest killers in the world. Simple office-based interventions can be very helpful in smoking cessation. Abuse of alcohol and prescription and illegal drugs also can lead to serious health consequences. Treatment of these issues frequently requires a more intensive therapeutic intervention. Fully exploring the value of social and spiritual support systems and prescriptions for im-proving these. A holistic approach to health care, however, requires a recognition of the need for balance in all aspects of life.

Fig.4 Lifestyle medicine

21. Lawlor DA, Hanratty B. The effect of physical activity advice given in routine primary care consultations: A systematic review. J Public Health Med 2001; 23:219-226.

22. Pereira RF, Franz NJ. Prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease in people with diabetes through lifestyle modification: Current evidence-based recommendations. Diabetes Spectrum 2008; 21:189-193.

23. Lichtenstein AH, Appel LJ, Brands M, et al. Diet and Lifestyle Recommendations Revision 2006, A Scientific Statement From the

25. Naska A, Oikonomou E, Trichopoulou A, et al. Siesta in healthy adults and coronary mortality in the general population. Arch Intern Med 2007; 167:296-301.

26. Benson H. The Relaxation Response. New York: HarperCollins; 1975.

27. Schulte-Rodin S, Broch L, Buysse D, et al. Clinical guidelines for the evaluation and management of chronic insomnia in adults. J Clinical Sleep Med 2008; 4:487-504.

chapter 2

chapter 2

WELLNESS AND TOURISM

main-stream lexicon in the 1970s and has dra-matically grown in popularity over the last 10-15 years. Still only hazily under-stood by most consumers, in popular usage the term can be applied to any-thing that makes one feel good or that is “healthy.” The modern concept of well-ness is very much rooted in the Western (U.S. and European) traditions and may not be well understood in other parts of the world. However, the tenets underly-ing wellness can be traced to the ancient civilizations of Asia, Greece, and Rome. Consistent with the World Health Organi-zation’s definition of “health,” this study defines wellness as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being

(28). It goes beyond mere freedom from disease or infirmity and emphasizes the

proactive maintenance and improvement of health and well-being. Expressed on a continuum that extends from reactive to proactive approaches to health, wellness falls firmly on the proactive side, incorporating attitudes and pursuits that prevent disease, improve health, enhance quality of life, and bring a person to increasingly optimum levels of well-being (29).

(Fig.1 – Difference between Medical paradigm and Wellness paradigm)

09

Fig.2 – Why is Wellness tourism important to people, business and Government?

2.1 What is wellness tourism?

Travel today can be bad for your health. Airport stress and transportation has-sles; jet lag and poor sleeping; disrup-tion of exercise routines; and excesses in eating, drinking, and sun exposure can leave a traveler more stressed and unwell after a trip. A recent Columbia University study of business travelers found that frequent and extensive trav-el can even increase cardiovascular risk factors, such as obesity, high blood pres-sure, and high cholesterol levels (30).

This is ironic because many people look forward to travel as an adventure and as an op-portunity to rejuvenate and de-stress. In fact, when an SRI International survey asked consumers what they do to maintain or enhance wellness, “take a vacation” was among the top five activities selected (31). As more and more people pay attention to their health, they increasingly want to keep up their healthy habits when they travel. And a growing segment of travelers are even taking trips specifically focused on maintaining and improving their personal health and being. This is driving the growth of well-ness tourism. Although wellwell-ness tourism is a relatively new niche segment within the global travel and tourism industry, the practice of wellness-focused travel is not new. Since ancient times, people have visited the Dead Sea for its therapeutic properties. Romans traveled to baths, hot springs, and seaside resorts for treatments, healthier cli-mates, purification, and spiritual rituals. In spite of the rigors of travel in today’s world,

Fig. 4 – Defining Wellness tourism

Fig. 5- Wellness tourism reflects the convergence of new values that consumers bring to their travel

the act of travel itself has long been consid-ered a wellness-enhancing activity. People who take any kind of vacation for leisure, rest, and relaxation are, in one sense, engaging in wellness tourism. This broad definition, how-ever, is not particularly useful for governments and businesses developing and promoting this niche segment and its offerings. Wellness tourism requires a definition that captures the broad motivations and characteristics of people engaging in this type of travel, so that industry stakeholders can understand and tap into the related opportunities. Therefore, there is much that is unwell about travel to-day. That is reason why Wellness tourism is stabled, because it is travel associated with the pursuit of maintaining or enhancing one’s personal well-being.

Fig. 3 - When you are looking to enhance or maintain your personal wellness, what are you most likely to do?

Fig. 7 how does a wellness conscious consumer travel?

2.1.1 How does a wellness conscious consumer travel?

At the core are the multidimensional val-ues related to wellness, which span phys-ical, spiritual, emotional, social and other dimensions. Motivated by these values, a wellness traveler may take part in many different kinds of activities during travel. These activities and businesses make up the diverse wellness tourism economy. They include not only spas, health resorts, baths, and springs, but also yoga studios and retreats, national parks, gyms and fitness centers, specialty restaurants, and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) centers.

2.2 Wellness tourism in the world

A study presented at the first Global Wellness Tourism Congress in October 2013 estimates this type of travel is now a half-tril-lion dollar market, accounting for 14 percent of all tourism rev-enues. Moreover,

Wellness tourism is a $438.6 billion global market, and a rapidly growing niche within the $3.2 trillion global tourism economy

(32).

Fig. 8 Global Tourism and Global Wellness tourism 2013

As of 2014, the US is the largest wellness tourism market, with $180.7 billion in annual, combined international and do-mestic expenditures. The US is the top destination for inbound international wellness tourism, with 7.1 million internation-al, inbound trips. Domestic tourism accounts for the majority (94 percent) of wellness trips in North America. Americans and Canadians receive—and take—few vacation days compared to workers in other countries making domestic, weekend trips the most popular wellness travel option (33). Europe is the second largest wellness tourism market, with $158.4 billion in annual, combined international and domestic expenditures; the region ranks highest in number of wellness trips with 216.2 million, compared to North America’s 171.7 in 2013. Europeans have long believed in health benefits derived from mineral baths, saunas, thalassotherapy, and other natural and water-based treatments (34).

Wellness tourism is projected to grow by 9.1% annually through 2017, a growth rate that is nearly 50% higher than that of overall global tourism.23 Wellness tourism will grow rapidly over the coming years, responding to the rising consumer in-terest in wellness principles and lifestyle currently underway around the world. Wellness tourism expenditures are projected to grow to $678.5 billion in 2017, rising from 14% to 16% of the total global tourism market. Wellness tourism trips are project-ed to grow by 8.5% annually, to 790.3 million trips in 2017. Wellness tourism overlaps and has synergy with many other high-growth niche tourism segments.

Fig. 9 Global Tourism industry

With the development of wellness tourism, worldwide wellness holiday experts have forecast the next big trends in wellness travel for 2018. From holiday for a healthy mind, to specialist stop smoking retreats form of life style that it leads to the genet-ic disorders. Reformation of this unhealthy life style is a prevent-ing factor for decreasprevent-ing the rate of genetic diseases. In some countries, the overuse of drugs is a major unhealthy life style. 2.2.1 Spiritual retreats

Usually, the most suitable locations for this type of building are far away from big cities and surrounded by

nature, which in turn bring quietude, peace and solace for the

customers. There, people can calm their mind and recharge their body. Some places even provide spiritual activities. Meditation helps to forget some burdens of life and to get rid of stresses, bringing people closer to nature and to their inner peace.

- Ghost Ranch Education and Retreat Center

Located on 21,000 acres in north central New Mexico, Ghost Ranch Education and Retreat Center is set amidst the red rocks that once inspired painter Georgia O’Keeffe. With more than 200 workshops ranging from paleontology to memoir writing, guests can also hike, kayak, walk a labyrinth designed as a “path to the center of the soul” or simply relax. Its values reflect: . Caring and Hospitality – to embrace one another, peace and social justice, careful stewardship of the Earth and the resourc-es entrusted to us, rresourc-espectful of people on various quresourc-ests and of different beliefs and perspectives

. Spiritual Yearning – to seek a relationship with the God, grow-ing in awareness of our begrow-ing and our Oneness

. Curiosity – to learn and to share stories of the world with one another, exploring its people and cultures, its history, its crea-tures, its landscape

. Family – to provide youth and family enrichment, sustaining the nature of multigenerational experiences and reunions, de-veloping healthy decision-making and leadership in youth and in adults .

.Creativity – to dance, sing, paint, sculpt, act, write, weave, play, and laugh.

Ghost Ranch has several gathering spaces for spiritual re-treats. Located two miles from main Ghost Ranch main campus, Casa del Sol is a retreat space at Ghost Ranch dedicated to deep-er spiritual contemplation. Cdeep-ertain retreats lend themselves to an intimate group and setting. Casa del Sol is a single story adobe home built in the mid-1930s with bedrooms that open up to a shared plaza. Casa del Sol is the perfect setting for indi-vidual, silent and guided retreats. The retreat house, two miles away from main Ghost Ranch facilities, provides a peacefully quiet space amidst a spectacular desert panorama. Casa del Sol, which house up to 14 people, has a spacious common room with fireplace, a full kitchen and simple sleeping rooms. Groups staying at Casa del Sol may choose to travel the two miles to the Ghost Ranch Dining Hall for meals or may bring their own food.

Fig.10 Casa del Sol Sabbaticals Fig.12 Casa del Sol Sabbaticals Fig.11 Casa del Sol Sabbaticals

Fig.14 The Silent Stay Retreat Center, San Francisco Fig.13 The Silent Stay Retreat Center, San Francisco

- The Silent Stay Retreat Hermitage in Vacaville, San Francisco, CA It is an outgrowth of a similar program in Assisi, Italy run by the same owners. Guests are encouraged to meditate, remain silent and reconnect with themselves and nature. It is the place for Wisdom of the quiet heart retreats. The quiet of the heart is the doorway to inner happiness & wisdom. Holding outer silence supports and nurtures inner well-being and calm. It notices the peace that is all around people and inside of them. Human men-tal activity softens and dissolves. Being present, nurturing our inner life brings new understanding, trust, and joy into our daily life. Thus, people should learn to live from our inner beingness, centered and present. A practice of living in the heart of the mo-ment is given. With meditation, silence & taking well deserved time, the Silent Stay Retreat Hermitage finds the doorway to a special vastness, gentleness, and much more inside hearts. The retreat includes guidance in taking the meditation practice home and integrating expanded awareness into daily activities. Bring a journal to remember your experience and ways to an-chor inner quiet and well-being in daily life.

Bruce Davis who creates The Silent Stay Retreat Hermitage said: “Step out of the busy-ness of daily life and into the sanctu-ary of your heart”

2.2.2 Exercise and fitness vacation

This service mostly aims to improve physical health. Its pro-grams consist of diet control and exercises to help customers to lose weight and enhance their muscles. They can participate in outdoor backpacking adventures such as mountain climbing, hiking, or simply camping to immerse themselves with nature.

- Fitpacking - Hull, USA

To promote fitness and weight loss, Fitpacking is a slow-trav-el program that brings people to national parks and forests for one- or two-week guided backpacking adventures. A week of backpacking will jump start fitness level, build muscle, alter body composition and burn fat (not water weight). They give people a chance to have camping or backpacking experience and have an idea of what to expect in the wilderness, though such experience is not mandatory. A positive attitude, a sense of adventure, and a good disposition add immeasurably to your chances for a fun and successful trip.

Fig.15 Fitpacking on the Batona Trail in New Jersey

Fig.16 Fitpacking, The-odore Roosevelt Na-tional Park, ND Fig.17

Fig.17 Fitpacking at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Fig.18 How does Fitpacking compare?

- Mountain Trek

At two locations in British Columbia and Baja California, small groups of guests participate in backcountry hikes and other ac-tivities (e.g. healthy eating, detox, yoga and stress management) designed to promote lifestyle changes. The goals of Mountain Trek, a boutique fitness retreat, are weight loss and improved overall health. Mountain Trek is a boutique luxury fitness re-treat and health spa program offering men and women of all fitness levels in a dynamic boot-camp-style. Guests take part in Mountain Trek programs to reclaim their physical and mental health and vitality, allowing corporate, urban professionals the opportunity to “retreat” from their normal high-intensity life-styles. Guests benefit from a balance of daily exercise including extensive hiking, cardio and yoga, delicious cuisine, massages, hot tubs, saunas, spa and detox treatments.

The holistic-based program includes educational health talks to help guests maintain a healthy lifestyle in their every-day lives. Sessions include overviews on nutrition, sleep health, detoxification, a balanced diet and stress relief. Guests will find fresh, healthy, calorie-controlled spa cuisine with a variety of beef, fish, poultry and vegetarian meals (catering to all dietary restrictions and food preferences), helping to instill healthy eat-ing habits into a permanent part of their lifestyles.

These unique societies live in the mountains where they enjoy: - Lots of walking and movement in nature, what some scientists are now calling “Forest Bathing” or “Nature Immersion”

- Breathing fresh air

- Drinking clean water and eating unprocessed food - Lower stress levels

- Detoxification practices including digital detox - Deep sleep

Fig.20 Mountain Trek

2.2.3 Destination spa and wellness resort

This is a focused service that consists of several activities like spa, fitness, swimming pool, golf, and hotel and so on. It relies on locations that have great natural landscape and fresh envi-ronment to create an ideal place for those who need to relax and recharge themselves, physically and mentally.

- Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif

The mission-style Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Ca-lif., once a playground for celebrities and athletes, now offers a weight-loss and fitness boot camp, spa with treatments to decrease anxiety and uplift mood and a “reflexology path.” The resort also houses the Chopra Center for Wellbeing that helps groups incorporate wellness into their workplace and personal lives.

Omni La Costa Resort & Spa helps people to escape their ev-eryday routine and indulge in a renewing massage at The Spa at La Costa, or make a splash with their kids on family-friendly wa-terslides and splash pads. it also offer an adult-only pool with panoramic views of two championship golf courses so people can enjoy a little private time while on vacation. People are also invited to plan extravagant events in the flexible indoor and out-door meeting spaces, dine on fresh coastal cuisine at a world-class restaurants and discover serenity at The Chopra Center for Wellbeing.

A list of facilities of the resort

- More than 600 luxurious rooms and suites and villas

- Eight swimming pools, including an adults-only pool and wa-terslides

- Two championship golf courses designed by PGA legends - 17 hard and clay tennis courts and a state-of-the-art Athletic Club

- The Spa at La Costa

- The world headquarters of The Chopra Center

- More than 100,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting and event space

- Kidtopia Kids Club and a variety of weekly activities the whole family can enjoy

- Near popular attractions including LEGOLAND California, beaches, shopping options and endless dining choices.

Fig.21 Omni La Costa Resort & Spa

Fig.22 Golf at La Costa

Fig.23 The Spa at La Costa

- Canyon Ranch in Lenox, Mass and Tucson, Ariz

Often called a luxury camp for adults, Canyon Ranch has offered “life-enhancement” programs for more than 35 years. Canyon Ranch help people navigate and claim your own wellness. Ev-ery step of Canyon Ranch spa vacation package will spark peo-ple inspiration, from luxurious botanical treatments to sooth-ing therapies that revive body and mind.

Moreover, guests can participate Pilates and yoga classes and relax in saunas, steam rooms and whirlpools. Take in the beauty of the Berkshires on a hiking, biking or canoeing excur-sion, people will have new interesting experience. During the time staying in the resort, people’s journey will be nourished with gourmet spa cuisine, crafted from locally sourced and authentic ingredients. The food sustains both body and mind; talented chefs in Canyon Ranch create fresh, bold flavors using clean, organic foods. Guest can get the cooking tips, recipes and

take-home techniques to motivate their own commitment to healthy eating. Moreover,Canyon Ranch has Speaker program with physicians, psychologists, nutritionists, exercise physiol-ogists and spirituality experts who have extensive experience that is matched by their genuine passion for helping people lead more fulfilled lives.

Fig.24 Canyon Ranch in Lenox, MA

Fig.25 Canyon Ranch swimming pool, Tucson, AZ

Fig.26 Canyon Ranch Yoga class, Tucson, AZ

2.3 Wellness tourism in Europe

Among the world’s top twenty countries for wellness tourism in terms of market size, over half are in Europe, along with the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and a handful of Asian. Eu-rope’s leading position in wellness tourism makes sense given Europeans’ long history of travel for wellness, preventive, and therapeutic purposes (including sanatoria, bathing, sauna, tha-lassotherapy, and other natural and water-based treatments). Europeans travel extensively domestically, within Europe, and outside of Europe, and many of their trips have a wellness. Arrivals/Trips: 202.7 million

Receipts/Expenditures: $158.4 billion Projected 5-year annual expenditures growth: 7.3%

Fig 27 Wellness tourism in the world

As we can see from the diagram above, in Europe, Wellness tourism becomes a trend. In fact, European consumers have a sophisticated understanding of wellness and prevention, draw-ing from a long tradition of bathdraw-ing, sauna, thalassotherapy, and other natural and water based treatments. Traveling exten-sively within their

own countries and continent for wellness, Europeans are also probably the largest source market for inter national wellness travel. home countries, Europeans are not as likely to trav-el overseas to receive healthcare. Countries such as Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, and most of Eastern Europe and the Baltics have centuries-old traditions of traveling for Kur , which involves a variety curative, rehabilitative, and preventive ther-apies related to massage, mud, and algae treatments, giving rise to a large sector of sanatoria, health resorts, and thermal centers. As this traditional sector goes through shrinkage and restructuring, some facilities are being refurbished, remodeled, and repositioned for the modern wellness tourism market, pro-viding spa and holistic health services in a hospitality setting that caters to consumers seeking to maintain and enhance their health. Wellness tourism offerings in Europe tend to be more “democratized” than in other regions – with a variety of services at many price points. Today, 4- and 5-star hotels are generally expected to have spa and wellness facilities available to guests, and these offerings have become standard. Besides, as govern-ment subsidization has shrunk, some traditional sanatoriums, health resorts, and thermal medical facilities in Eastern and Central/ Southern Europe have sought investment and modern-ization to broaden their appeal and are increasingly focusing on wellness tourism (especially trying to attract more international visitors). For example, traditional sanatoria in Sochi, Russia (a historic spa town) are now being modernized and converted to luxury spa hotels in anticipation of the 2014 Olympics. In Turkey, historic hammams are undergoing multi-million dollar resto-rations and reopening as tourist focused facilities centers, while new five-star hotels and health clubs are including hammam-style facilities within their luxury spa and wellness centers. Total economic impact: $451.7 billion

• Europe receives the highest number of wellness trips.

• Europe ranks second (after North America) for wellness tourism expenditures.

Fig.28 Top countries for Wellness tourism in the world

Fig.29 Top countries for Wellness tourism in Europe

From the table – Top ten Wellness tourism in the world and Europe 2013, we can see that Italy is considered as one of coun-tries which has highest number of tourist for wellness. AS far as we know that Italy is a destination of world-renowned beauty and excellence in all areas of life. It boasts picture-perfect coun-tryside, unbeatable cuisine, bustling city life and deeply-rooted traditions. With dramatic lakes, stunning cliffs and quaint villag-es, Italy offers new delights at every turn.In fact, Italy is not only an interesting destination for typical holidays with pleasant cli-mate, beautiful scenery but also a perfect destination for a well-ness break which improves people’s well-being to lead happier and healthier lives. With the development of wellness travel, there are many places in Italy that offer people with an

intensive detox to refresh and rejuvenate, a weight-loss retreat. Moreover, Italy features the largest number of natural thermal spa centers in the world, after all this is the home of the an-cient Roman baths, and people should certainly make a point of experiencing it during their stay. With the various nature and landscapes from the south to the north of Italy, each place will has specific features to provide different kinds of programs for wellness holiday. Italy touches the hearts of all who visit, and people will find that after the first time they will be desperate to return again and again.

There are many detox retreat spas which are built to meet the demand of modern societies. Some are newly built, some are restored from old buildings such as villas, castles in Italy, 2.3.1 Italy – an interesting destination for wellness

which are already in ideal locations that are far away from big cities and close to nature. Those are surrounded by nature and picturesque views, and filled with fresh air, thus making ideal place for recreational activities. Old buildings inherit the spirit of local architecture and that is a mystery which attracts tour-ists to explore and learn about. Visiting a country rich of culture and history like Italy, tourist would prefer to visit such build-ings. Furthermore, restored buildings often combine traditional and modern values, which in turn enhance their attractiveness. With those aforementioned values, old buildings in Italy should be studied to be restored in a way that they could coexist with modern context and contribute to tourism and, thus, play an important role in Italian architecture.

2.3.1.1 CASE STUDIES VILLA EDEN

Location: Merano, Italy

For over 30 years in Merano Villa Eden has been a par-adise where you can spend a wonderful holiday dedicated to health and mental well-being, to regain your natural balance and maintain it for a lifetime. Angelika Schmid is the young dy-namic daughter of Karl Schmid, the “inventor” of Villa Eden in 1982 and head of the Merano family of iron will and uncommon foresight. Angelika has directed Villa Eden since 1993 with fem-inine sweetness, giving way at the right time to the savvy of an entrepreneurial manager. She is a charming living example of the philosophy of Villa Eden. A maximum quality of life, gained through the achievement and, above all, the maintenance of body-mind balance to offer a unique holiday in which health and wellness are the main protagonists.

Nowadays, overweight and obesity become a problem in

teenagers. One of the causes is an alimentation characterized by an excessive intake of calories caused by the substitution of the main meal with sandwiches or snacks, reduced physical activi-ty with a preference towards games and sedentary recreational activity, factors both familiar and genetic. Villa Eden decided to create a program for teenagers to help them to adapt healthy lifestyle habits and spend time with your parents or friends. Not a common spa hotel, not an ordinary beauty farm in South Tyrol, Villa Eden - The Leading Park Retreat is simply something unique. Prominent figures in the field of hospitality, catering, beauty and spa, yoga and fitness, with established and qualified professionals in various scientific/medical fields. The expert staff of the beauty department will guarantee that your physical and psychological equilibrium is reached through high-ly innovative and effective treatments. The doctors make use of sophisticated diagnostic tools and through daily consultations, visits and examinations, following you step by step in your path to health and wellness. Customized programs, tailored diets and targeted therapies are just some of the services provided by the team of the medical department of Villa Eden. Besides, it provides room in 5-start Hotel with 5 kinds of rooms and elegant suites.

Users: Man, woman and no children Rooms and suites

. Superior room (35-40 m2) . Prestige room (40-56 m2) . Garden suite (65-70m2) . Parc suite (70m2) . Grand suite (100m2)

Programs:

- Healthy cusine - Medical program

- Beauty salon - Vital Blance (fitness) Activities

- Restaurant & Terraces - Reading room

- Cinema room

- Indoor and outdoor swimming pool - Yoga - Fitness

- Shiatsu

- Spa: Turkish bath, phyto-alghae therapy - Medical department diagnostic

The program of Villa Eden focus on four elements: healthy cuisine, medical, beauty and vital balance. The programs are designed with different process to meet the need of all people such as long program (3, 7, 10 days) or short program (1, 2 days). The purpose of all program in Villa Eden focus on five factors: Arrive and feel at home: The rooms and suites are designed to bring feelings of peace and well-being to people. Besides, in the charming lounge room, there is a relaxing reading to help peo-ple to compeo-pletely forget about the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Eden Park of Villa, people can listen to the cheerful singing of birds and find themselves. The friendly staff can give you any information about Villa Eden holiday.

. Discover healthy vital nutrition: in Villa Eden, they use only fresh, local ingredients so you can obtain an abundance of vita-mins and nutrients in your food, which is always prepared with care. When staying in Villa Eden, people will start their day with

a delicious breakfast and enjoy the variety of local products rich in vitamins, fiber and minerals (from 7:30 to 10:30 am). More-over, in villa special detox menus in contain fresh fruit, vegeta-ble juices and green smoothies, which stimulate digestion and the immune system.

. Feeling totally healthy and fit: Before breakfast, every morning people will get you started in the best way possible with thee group exercise. Then they will find inner balance and gain new energy with our daily yoga or going to gym to take care of your fitness. Especially, an individual session of personal training is included in certain programs to help people more in their exer-cise.

. Immerse yourself in wellness: people will enjoy the beauty of summer in the panoramic pool in total privacy, surrounded by olive trees and the magnificent flowers of our beautiful park. The indoor pool and relax in the hot tub will people to discover the benefits of water.

. Discover the beauty of South Tyrol: people who stay in Villa Eden can take weekly excursions to discover the most beauti-ful places and the interesting cultural heritage of Merano and its surroundings, along with our Guest Relations Manager. Vil-la will provide all information about tour in the current weekly program. Moreover, in the old town of Merano, people will have unforgettable experience with shopping tour.

Fig.30 Villa Eden Fig.32 Villa Eden - Suite

BORGO EGNAZIA Location: Puglia, Italy

Borgo is like a breathing tale of Puglia, spoken by the an-cient culture of the land and by the sheer beauty of its nonpareil architecture. It happens every hour of the year: people can come and live their time in Borgo Egnazia, and nature is powerful, pece is intense, harmony is full. It’s a place where people meet themselves. Open year-round, Borgo Egnazia is the story of Pug-lia come to life in the ancient culture of the land and through the sheer beauty of its incomparable architecture. It’s a place like “Nowhere Else”, embodying a brand-new concept of hospitality based on authentic local experiences. Inspired by Apulia’s rich traditions, yet thoroughly contemporary in its style, the hotel is a true masterpiece of architecture and design. Every detail of the main building, separate and private villas, has been meticu-lously crafted to ensure the highest standards of luxury. The ad-jacent world-renowned San Domenico Golf Course, the Vair Spa with water and body treatments, the Beach Club, tennis and kids club, make it an unforgettable destination. A shimmering coastline, ancient olive groves, the Roman town of Egnazia and the UNESCO World Heritage town of Alberobello are nearby for exploration. There are six restaurants, each providing its own unique experience, treasuring the highest quality and embody-ing the many faces of our culinary tradition. Besides, Spa - A true “temple” for body and mind care, Vair is an innovative 2,000 square-meters psycho-alchemic spa with amazing treatments and “life-changing” experiences. Especially, there are two plac-es which are hold for kids and teenagrplac-es: the magic world of Trullalleri Kid’s Club: a place always filled with fun activities for little guests: creative labs, cooking classes, story-telling, baby dancing, face-painting, playground games, beach days and

treasure hunts and for younger guests is not an option at out teen’s club: they always have a great time with our soccer acad-emy, cooking classes, sport activities, dance contests, go-kart-ing, adventure park, pool games, arts & crafts creative activities and water sports.

Users: Everyone

Rooms and family suites

Hotel rooms in main building – La Corte (33-125m2) Private Villas (Le Ville, 100-250m2 with swimming pool) Apartment (Il Borgo – the heart of property, 42-90m2) Activities:

- Events: flea market, wedding…

- Spa: there are many different programs and treatments offering for users

- Golf

- Conferences (meetings) - Restaurant: Indoor and outdoor restaurant

. Restaurant for children (Da Puccetta_ designed with funny decoration)

.Restaurant for family (Trattoria Mia Cucina – children and peo-ple who spend time together – cooking class)

- Explore Puglia: there are some tours to explore some cit-ies around.

- Reading room - Gym - Yoga

- Cigar and game room

- Retail shops (Bottega egnazia) with fashion, local foods, books and handmade products

- Teen’s club - Water sport

Fig.35 Borgo Egnazia – Fitness Yoga Fig.36 Borgo Egnazia – Cooking class Fig.37 Borgo Egnazia – Suite

TORRE DE MONALDESCHI Location: Umbria, Italy

Torre de Monaldeschi is an elegant, luxury residential and resort development in the heart of Umbria where each property enjoys one of the most spectacular views in Italy The resort is centered on an 11th century fortress which once belonged to the Templar Knights. At its base, a picturesque village with 100 homes. The Umbrian authorities have strict planning criteria to pro-tect the region’s artistic and natural heritage and Torre de Mon-aldeschi, which has won the International Property Award for Italy’s best development, was one of the very few new builds to receive the green light. This is because traditional building techniques and materials have been used to preserve the look and feel of this marvellous Umbrian location.

Torre de Monaldeschi , which are all individually designed and laid across one or two floors, are villas, townhouses and apart-ments with one to four bedrooms, private gardens and terraces. They are all built of stone under a handmade cotto roof, their look is very much reminiscent of rustic Umbrian architecture. Interiors, with the use of authentic materials such as exposed chestnut and oak beams, stone, and terracotta and ceramic tiles are in the same style. .However, contemporary principles and technology are subtly used to boost comfort.Every home is laid out according to Feng Shui criteria, and employs high-stan-dard technical systems to maximise energy savings and reduce the impact on the environment. “Torre de Monaldeschi offers anyone looking for a tranquil retreat the best of both worlds, using ancient building methods and new technologies to create a modern concept of living,” says Cristiano Monetti, CEO of de-velopers Domuscultae SPA. To enhance the lifestyle experience,

Domuscultae SPA is also furnishing the resort with communal swimming pools, fitness and health centres, tennis courts, a jog-ging path and an off track path for mountain bike.

Users: everyone

Accommodations: rooms and appartments with gardens Activities

- Restaurant & bar - Spa

- Swimming pool

- Fitness and health center - Tennis courts

- Jogging track and Path for mountain bike - Events

- Conferences

Fig.42 Orre de Monaldeschi – Swimming pool

PLUNHOF

Location: South of Tyrol, Italy

The Chronicles of Plunhof – The Origins of the Hotel and of the Name “Volgger.” The Volggers are an ancient line. As far back as the year 1330, a certain “Volker” from Ridnaun / Ridan-na is first mentioned in an historical document.

The Hotel is surrounded by unspoilt meadows and woods and the beautiful panorama of the Stubai Alps with their gla-ciers and three-thousand-meter-high summits, lean back and enjoy the incomparable peace and quiet. Also unique is the at-mosphere of the hotel, because at the 4-star-superior Plunhof spa hotel near Sterzing/Vipiteno (Eisack/Isarco Valley) in South Tyrol, people will be immediately accepted as an honorary member of the large family: Eight siblings will all pull together to help ensure that holidays are an unforgettable experience. In the hotel, there is Spa Minera of one of the leading spa hotel, enjoy pure mental and emotional relaxation, and help people to enhance body’s health, beauty and vitality. The hotel in South Tyrol not only sets new standards in the spa, health, and beau-ty area – it also offers culinary highlights (numerous, tasbeau-ty and also healthy gourmet specialties are served). Plunhof will give people the feeling of being home.

With the exclusive spa treatments at the hotel Plunhof, Spa Minera in South Tyrol, people can immerse themselves in a world of balance and harmony. Allow themselves the luxury of that extra touch of comfort and happiness that will make the vacation something really special. The term “Wellness” encom-passes the concepts of well-being, fitness, and happiness and thus stands for a holistic health approach, based on health and satisfaction. In addition to spa treatments, healthy eating, en-joyment, and physical fitness are its central elements. The

pos-itive influence of spa treatments on body and mind is immedi-ately noticeable. The maxim of the wellness movement is: “To live healthy enjoyable!” - And that fits quite nicely to South Ty-rol!

Users: everyone (couple, group and family) Rooms and suites:

- Standard rooms (25-32 m2) for 1-2 people - Suites (38-68 m2) for 2-4 people

- Family suites (57m2) for 4 people Activities

- Restaurant and cooking class

- Spa Minera (Sauna, massage, health bath…) - Yoga

- Fitness - Swimming pool

- Hiking, fishing (in summer) and ski (in winter)

- Exploring others cities around like Bolzano, Isarcovalley, Bressanone…)

Fig.48 Plunhof - Relax

2.4 The future of wellness tourism - Stop smoking retreats

The thought of going cold turkey whilst dealing with work stress and daily temptation has many folks reaching for their lighters, so they are increasingly deciding to combine the first steps towards going smoke free with a healthy holiday that will help them to de-stress, break triggers and build new healthier habits. With the luxury of time, expert medical consultations and specialist therapies, they can return home renewed and fully equipped with the long-term answer to continuing their smoke-free journey.

- Optimal health for the modern man Following an increasing move away from the ultra-masculine man towards the Modern man, more men than ever are now going to spas and wellness retreats. In today’s ever more liberal society, it’s becoming more socially acceptable for men to escape on a wellness holiday where they can take part in masculine activities, like boxing and HIIT, before recovering with a massage or spa treatment. With men, still significantly less likely than women to make time to consult a doctor, wellness retreats catering to men also offer a more approachable means of addressing health issues.

- Healthy mind and emotion healing holidays

With more of us looking for ways to boost self-confidence or learn how to manage stress, it is little wonder that mind and emotion healing holidays are a rising trend in the wellness world. With a growing understanding that a healthy mind leads to a healthy life, retreats offering coaching in mindfulness, med-itation and yoga, are helping sufferers of modern-living burnout to reconnect their mind, body and soul.

- Post-cancer recovery retreats

No longer shying away from the complexities of treating a cancer sufferer, a rise in wellness spa retreats creating special-ist post-cancer recovery programs offers a sanctuary for cancer survivors to recharge and rejuvenate. Helping them to feel like the best version of themselves again, a range of holistic spa therapies and alternative natural medicine treatments, from acupuncture to Ayurveda, willnurture and resort their well-be-ing. Combined with expert consultations from psychologists, nutritionists and physiotherapists, they can regain their appe-tite and strength as they rejuvenate their mind, body and soul in a luxurious wellness sanctuary.

- Eat-well detox holidays

Gone are the days when a detox holiday entails a punishing regime of fasting and tiny portions; time for the eat-well detox. Foodie lovers in search of a cleansing detox will be pleased to know that on an eat-well detox they’ll be able to refuel with well-proportioned nutritious meals throughout the day, that won’t leave them going hungry. Focusing instead on eating a generous amount of healthy food, it’s a more satisfying experi-ence for those looking to detox without forgoing food.

- Physical therapy holidays

Everyone puts their bodies through a lot of stress. Whether from being hunched over a desk or working out to the extreme, muscles are frequently being strained, pulled or teared. Answer-ing the call for worn out bodies, the rise of physical therapy hol-idays provides opportunities for recovery from injuries and to re-train the body to peak perfection. Heal the body with a wide variety of treatments, from expert consultations with

physio--therapists to aquatic therapy and posture alignment. - Family-wellness holidays

Following the rising realization that the next generation of spa goers are the younger generation, more spa and wellness retreats are now opening their doors to families. No longer can a no-go zone with the children in tow, with anarray of mini spa treatments designed especially for children, now the whole family be pampered from head to toe. Also focusing on drawing the kids away from their iPad’s and video games, action packed kids clubs encourage children to experience new sports and ac-tivities, as they swap their smartphones for bicycles, tennis and water sports.

- Preventative health to lower your biological age

Already highly popular with the Baby Boomer generation, the appeal of preventative health holidays offering the chance to help slow down the clock are also rising in popularity with Gen-erations X and Y. Proving that age really is nothing but a num-ber – whether pressing pause on ageing by learning to let go of stress or sweating your way to a more youthful you, reducing your biological age is the new mantra of the ‘ageing gracefully’ gurus.

- Social group fitness holidays

If you’re a social butterfly and like to make friends wherever you go, then you’re probably a part of the ever-rising number of people escaping on social group fitness holidays. Whether a group of friends or the solo traveler who doesn’t want to train alone, with the added support of individuals going through the same process, you’ll soon reach your fitness goals. Offering the

opportunity for you to train in groups where you can learn from each other, you may even make some lifelong friends.

- Workplace wellness

When you think of workplace outings, images of trudging through mud, inspirational speakers and team-building exercis-es spring to mind. However, workplace wellnexercis-ess holidays offer something different; workers can enjoy stress-management re-treats, yoga holidays to increase brain power or mountain-bik-ing and ocean kayakmountain-bik-ing to encourage team buildmountain-bik-ing.

- Eco-friendly wellness retreats With a rise in green conscious travelers in search of a wellness holiday that is as kind to the planet as it is to you, there has been a growing emergence of eco-friendly wellness retreats offering a trip, without the guilt trip. Return home an expert on the local fauna and flora with educational eco-forest walks, indulge with all-natural spa reme-dies and refuel with healthy organic cuisine from onsite gardens.

chapter 3

chapter 3

project

3.1 The site

Villa Arconati, with a reasonable dis-tance to the city, is surrounded by greenery. It has good access to roads that connects major cities like Milan, Monza, Rho Fiera (Expo site) and near-by villas. Thanks those advantages, Villa Arconati is an ideal site for this project.

Fig 53. Some pictures survey of Villa Arconati

3.2 History of Villa Arconati

3.2.1 Villa Arconati as a Villa di Delizia

Villa Arconati is located inside the Parco delle Groane, on a ver-tex of a large quadrangular garden, next to the courtyards and the small church of the agricultural village of Castellazzo. The complex is surrounded by forests , moors and cultivated land for about 200 hectares. At the state road 233 Varesina , between Bollate and Garbagnate , between two feline statues on pedes-tals and two obelisks, the Via dei Leoni branches off, which be-tween two rows of white hornbeam leads to the main entrance gate of the villa.

The complex of Villa Arconati developed around a previous nucleus from the seventeenth century , reaching its maximum splendor in the eighteenth century . The main architect of the villa was Count Galeazzo Arconati , famous collector, who boasted among its collections the Atlantic Codex of Leonardo da Vinci and the Roman statue of Tiberius , traditionally called Pompeo Magno . The Arconati , historical owners of the villa, invested heavily on the Castellazzo, which became one of the most prestigious and renowned “villas of delights” (Villa di deli-zia) in Milan.

The current design of the villa is due to Count Giuseppe Anto-nio Arconati who began work in 1742. The south-west wing was added to the villa and the west façade and the new south façade in late Lombard Baroque style were modeled. Even the gardens were remodeled from the previous Italian style to the French style , building a parterre in front of the new south façade.In 1772 the villa passed to the Busca family and in the twentieth

century to the Crivelli family . In 1990 the complex was bought by a real estate company .

In 2004, Villa Arconati received the highest number of reports in the second edition of the places of the heart – Census of places of nature not to be forgotten, promoted by the Italian Environ-ment Fund. The event led to two days of “open doors” in 2005 , an occasion in which the public was able to visit many rooms of the Villa, in addition to the gardens. In 2011, it became the head-quarters of the Augusto Rancillo Foundation, today involved in an important project to restore and convert the structure to a cultural use. Conservation work began on the complex in 2009, with the work being carried out in stages in Villa, the Garden and the Village. As well as the restoration project, other pro-motional activities such as the noted Villa Arconati Festival and public guided visits, have periodically brought many visitors to discover Castellazzo. These activities have once more conferred status on the complex, a place of history aand learning, a meet-ing place and place of festivals and culture.