The name of this typical source comes from the Greek “Nitron”, which means pure, crystalline, and is an adjective of the word “Ntr”, meaning God. In fact, the first Greek settlers (in the eighth century BC) erected a temple dedicated to Apollo and the water lilies in the vicinity of the source, believing in the healing properties of the waters as a divine protection.
Even today, following a recent discovery, there are ruins and water intake structures that before the Greeks and then the Romans were built right on the source.
Extraordinary relics from the past and some of the thirteen marble votive reliefs were discovered here in 1759 and now preserved in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, dedicated not only to the Nymphs but also to some Roman physicians such as Menippus, alpine physician, Aurelio Monaghan and Numerio Fabio with their “alumnis” who apparently already practiced care to their patients at Nitrodi two thousand years ago.....
In the 1950s the great Angelo Rizzoli, having in mind to build a modern spa complex in Nitrodi for cures commissioned a major study to Prof. Mancioli at the University “La Sapienza” of Rome to analyze and study the water of Nitrodi and its beneficial effects. Rizzoli did not reach its intent for various reasons but the research of Prof. Mancioli is still relevant today, and informs us that the water Nitrodi promotes and regulates diuresis, improves the functional capacity of the kidney, resolves or greatly improves gastritis and gastroduodenitis and it is great adjuvant in gastro duodenal ulcers, possesses qualities of healing in the skin heals ulcers varicose veins, wounds, fistulas, pimples and makes the skin healthy, pure, smooth, bright.
This miraculous source is located about 300 meters from the sea level and overlooks a ravine carved by the water itself, which ends in a rainforest bed, called Acquara, where the Olmitello source is set of diuretic nature. The water comes out of the rock with a wide and continuous jet: it is crystal clear.
Its temperature is just over 27°, and for this reason, in the vast hydrothermal panorama of the island of Ischia, characterized by hot springs (“hyper-thermal”) and strongly mineralized (“hypertonic”), the Nitrodi source is a specific exception to the rule: it has a slight mineralization at the borderline between the ‘low mineral and medium-mineral content waters’. Among its main elements are: sodium, calcium, potassium, chlorine, sulfur and carbon. For this it is usable with outdoor use, but also quietly drinkable.
With the latest restructuring of the natural park that wanted to give greater luster to the history of the place to make it known to all those who reach it, visitors can admire the true source of the nymphs Nitrodi enriched with a large painting depicting the god Apollo playing his harp and two of his nymphs, in the background of this natural paradise, follow him joyful.
The water that springs forth spontaneously from time immemorial is now delivered totally pure, without the addition of chlorine and any chemicals, and offered to users in the form of numerous showers surrounded by greenery and overlooking the enchanting view of the sea from the nearby seaside resort Maronti that extends as far as the eye all around the park. And it is precisely this that makes the hot springs of Nitrodi different from all other reality in Ischia and not: the absence of pools that, for reasons of hygiene, would necessarily require the use of substances such as chlorine and other detergents, and the presence of showers partial and full with water coming straight from the creeks into the rock. But he water, alone, is not that only one of the many elements that makes up the thermal park. Unlike many other facilities in the area, in fact, the source of the nymphs Nitrodi wants to support its clients in a path that has been specifically defined hydro aromatherapic. The idea of guiding visitors on a sensory and holistic journey, diving in and enjoying nature a bit like an ancient Roman and at the same time finding a well-being so often lost in the daily life. Not only the water to cure and relieve many skin diseases but all the other elements present in the luxuriant nature of the park make a path with other treatments aimed at obtaining a full-service spa, a feeling of new energy that pervades the whole body. A lot of herbs and aromatic plants that fill the park, from rosemary to mastic, a plant of the gods, from aloe Vera to olive trees through figs, pomegranates, brooms, helichrysum and buckthorn. Each plant can help you in your path to wellness. Such as rosemary, caressed after showering, that releases its essential oil. This, massaged on the skin when the pores are still dilated, allows obtaining a beneficial effect invigorating and revitalizing.
Relaxing and taking care of you is really imperative for those who reach the source of the Nymphs Nitrodi and to do that the park offers to all its customers this sensory journey, made of perfumes, showers and flavors. The plants are in fact also used to prepare a drink with local products such as drink made from Aloe Vera gel, local honey, ice, lemon and mint or some new wellness drink that the intuition of professor Sollino and the skillful hand of barman Pasquale have just created.
The partnership with the German company Whitetherapy GmbH, the study of Prof. Giuseppe Sollino, botanist and expert on natural sciences and dr. Luigi Buono with his lab cosmetic production, has led to the creation of some cosmetics and cosmeceuticals that put together the water Nitrodi with the Eastern Mediterranean essences and raw materials such as frankincense and myrrh of Oman in order to explain in full the concept of well-being that aims at Nitrodi: SPAEH - Salus per Aquam et Herbas
An oasis of peace indispensable for living a feeling of complete harmony with nature, to find their inner balance and wellbeing, to enjoy a simple but valuable things.
It is not difficult to reach Nitrodi: by car, coming both from San Angelo and Ischia and in its immediate vicinity you can enjoy ample free parking. By bus is reachable with lines CD and CS and in summer even with the line 11 from the Bay of Maronti.
Along the staircase that starts at the bridge, in a few minutes you can reach the beautiful and famous source!
by Francesco Antonio Schiano