Grotta Giusti Natural Spa Resort

What is the secret to a long and healthy life? The answer can be found in the Grotta Giusti anti-ageing programme called Longevity , a new programme that the Natural Spa Resort of Monsummano Terme proposes to its clientele with the intention of guiding clients towards a more harmonious approach to ageing in the name of health and well-being.
Well-being, in the sense of “feeling good”, has always been the objective of every individual according to one’s own discretion and capabilities. Indeed, if it is true that we are witnessing a demographic shift towards old age – by 2050 there will be around 2 billion over 60s compared to 600 million in 2000 – and that degenerative diseases linked to ageing are on the increase, it is becoming increasingly important to prepare for old age in good time.
And with Longevity, which operates in the realm of predictive and preventative medicine, the project finds its discipline in a scientific approach, creating rules for a balanced lifestyle under all its aspects, whether psychological, nutritional, physical or climatic.
The method, devised by Prof. Giovanni Scapagnini and the Longevity team at Grotta Giusti, coordinated by Dr Nicola Angelo Fortunati, foresees a multidisciplinary approach which starts with detailed diagnostic examinations, physiological and behavioural assessments and genetics tests in order to provide a comprehensive medical picture. In accordance with the results, a nutraceutical and nutritional programme is then tailored to meet the patient’s specific needs, while the most suitable physical therapies and thermal treatments are decided. The thermal treatments – mud, balneotherapy and “grotta” (the thermal cave) – thanks to their ability to transmit warmth and trigger biological reparatory reactions in cells, thus helping the body’s defences against disease, embody the unique nature of the Grotta Giusti programme. “In particular, the anthrotherapy in the thermal cave takes advantage of a warm and humid microclimate which is ideal for a general stimulation of the entire organism” – underlines Dr Nicola Angelo Fortunati. At the end of the programme, a detailed final report is provided with detailed diagnoses and therapeutic advice to follow at home.
“The programme concentrates on the high-level functions of our organism,” explains Prof. Scapagnini, “on keeping our cognitive system in good working order and therefore focusing on cerebral, hormonal and neuro-endocrine aspects, while working on a nutritional level from the perspective of preserving our functional metabolism.”
It is now widely accepted that nutrition and physical activity provide the foundation for everyday prevention in order to improve our quality of life in later years, and it is known that the polyphenols contained in fruit and vegetables are able to trigger the genetic mechanisms of longevity. It is now considered scientific fact that omega3s regulate triglycerides and protect the heart, but perhaps not many people know that curcumin (a yellow pigment that gives curry its colour) protects the brain from ageing and from Alzheimer’s disease! There are many new developments owed to nutraceuticals which the Longevity programme pass on to its patients ...so long live life!

In collaboration with the Mediterranea Dives & Tours scuba diving agency, the first to explore the Grotta Giusti underground lake in the 1980s, experience the unique excitement of diving in the natural cave’s underwater thermal lake and explore the underwater cavities of the age-old thermal cave.

The course, held by instructors with vast experience in cave diving, consists of a practical lesson and a pre-dive briefing, followed by the dive itself in the thermal lake with waters of 34°C. Divers will be put into groups of four and accompanied by two guides who will provide them with all the necessary equipment.