Museum of thermalism: a development project and an ancient shared heritage between Italy and Egypt

Abstract EN

Thermal water is a phenomenon characterized from the very beginning with an aura of sacredness and mystery.

Hot, seething, steaming and sometimes smelly waters represented a certain presence of a divinity.

A fact, that was attested through certain traces that varied from the simple offering deposits nearby the springs and lakes till the real cult buildings especially the oracles.

This paper deals particularly with the use of thermal water in a comparison between Italy (Montegrotto Terme) and Egypt (Siwa) in terms of use and evaluation of the heritage value of such a natural resource, the sustainable development of human societies and particularly the technical, social and cultural factors linked to access and use of thermal water.

In addition to the acquisition, management and control of thermal water in the form of spas and baths.

In Italy, the Euganean thermal area, near Padua, was formerly called “Aquae Patavinae” because then, as today, the characterizing element of the territory was the healthy water that gushed abundantly on surface.

Therefore, after a long history of study and research, a museum, dedicated to the “Thermalism in Aquae Patavinae” was established in Montegrotto (north-eastern Italy) in 2021.