TOWN OF ABANO TERME IN PADOVA PROVINCE

Abano Terme, in the Padova Province, is located in the Northeastern section of the Euganean Hills just a few km from the city of Padova.  One tourist brochure I read said that the town is "considered" to be the worlds largest spa city, but I do not see how unless they are counting all the land area of the Padova as well. Abano is a hotel and tourist town, busy from May until Oct and a ghost town during the winter months. The city is working to make itself a year round destination, but it will still take some time to achieve.

The Abano Terme "Spa" area is centered on health not hot springs for a decedent living. Everything is therapeutic medicine and even the rhythm of the town and surrounding area runs on the treatment schedule. If you want a mud treatment, O2, thermal mineral water bath or 100 other types of service this takes place in the morning hours. Many treatments must be approved by a Doctor, but this is not always a rigid rule (we are in Italy remember). By lunch time the treatments are done, and everyone is having lunch before the tour buses start taking people to various located sites.

This holistic health center has been running since the Roman times, Pliny the Elder mentions the area in his reports to Roma. During the late 1700's when the Austrian-Hungarian Empire controlled much of Northern Italy, Abano Terme was a holiday spot for nobles of the Empire. Even today there is a strong Central European atmosphere with many restaurants offering Sud Tyrolean style menus.