The story of the source of Nitrodi is really unique and extraordinary. It is well known that in the first century B.C. the Source of Nitrodi enjoyed a certain fame throughout the Roman Empire.
The numerous reliefs found in the spring of 1757 at the source and now kept at MANN show that the users of the time came from various parts of the Empireand belonged to the highest social classes.
The history of the Source in Greek times, meanwhile, is still little known and unstudied. Recent modernization works on the ground floor of the structure have highlighted and highlighted the ancient “doccioni”, which are still functioning today, which have made it possible to ascertain how some large stone blocks useful to support such gutters are most likely made in Roman times before the Roman era.
The source in this historical period was consecrated to God Apollo and Ninfe Nitrodi. They thought in the miraculous waters, apparently still today, through the tutors who played their role effectively. In our time, scholars, curious about the beneficial effects of this fantastic water, replacethat one of science, in Apollo and the Nymphs.
Many have deepened the “causes” of such conclusions, also intrigued by the local tradition, for example by passing father and son into natural habits and remedies, and hence the Ischian response to any skin disease, varicose veins, ulcer, gangrene, etc…The answer when questioning the elderly is always the same “go to nitrul!”, do you have a wound? “Put water of nitrul” or “do you have the grunts?” “Drink water of nitrul!”. Prof. Massimo Mancioli from the University of Rome La Sapienza in the 1960’s, and most recently Prof. Mazza, renowned hydrologist and Ischian scholar, and lastly, Prof. Maria Costantino of the University of Salerno, have conducted studies and insights on waterdemonstrating beneficial effects for many pathologies.If it is true, as it is, that the Nymphs lived in natural places far from human settlements, then - perhaps - they live in this place. In fact, to get to the source, you leave the main road and you can walk on the neighboring slope for about 50 meters.
It has the impression of moving away from crowded and modern places to immerse themselves in what the Romans called “sacred grove”. Into the depths of the path, the sound of water becomes even more the only echo of nature. Once at the Source, the numerous “rushing showers” resound with one voice creating a water world.
Just now, for millennia, the cult of water has been celebrated constantly and continuously. Around the spring is welcomed by a small spa that proposes the new frontier of modern thermalism.
Only showers and washbasins without swimming pools: the water flows smoothly and naturally. In the structure that has an unmistakable and well-kept style, immersed in the woods, you can relive the thermalism of natural medicine, where water and the environment blend, and generatinghydro-aromatherapy.
A different thermalism that offers ample space for holistic healing and healing treatments with aesthetic and therapeutic treatments carried out by specialized professionals who come to the Fountain every year from various parts of the world, sensitive to the lure of the Nymphs: ayurveda and marmatherapy, shiatsu, reiki , Art-therpay, yoga, meditation, bamboo massage, lithotherapy. All in a framework of ecosustainable management with 65% of solar energy production. Unique thermal cosmetic products made with mythological Nitrodi water are appreciated and sold all over the world.
During the stay at the Source you can stop at the fitobar. Here, created by Prof. Giuseppe Sollino, a botanist and scholar of Ischia Island, you can refresh in a natural way and you can appreciate herbal teas, elixir infusions and granites prepared with spring water and aromatic plants that grow in “Sacred wood”. Then, before resuming the path and returning to the normal life full of fresh water in the fountains, it is possible to fill some bottles of the mythical water to carry it with it while the free mind knocks on god Apollo in the hope of enlightening this new energy with Its Sun.
It is possible to buy precious jewels in the springs where Nitrodi water is mixed with special ingredients to give birth to the best skin creams, or fragrance essences to attribute the task of chewing the senses. In the slope on the way back to the everyday life, a gentle breeze rises from the green valleys of “marevascio”, companioning to the image of the thin bodies that float among the olive trees along with the nymphs.
Before proceeding in the daily everyday life of the taxi driver who will take the task of accompanying us to reality, try to look back and see what you are leaving behind.
by Redazione Ischia