It’s often said that you’re as young as you feel but I arrived in the heart of Emilia-Romagna, Italy on an early flight from London, tired and somewhat stressed. I certainly looked and felt years older.
Fortunately, I was about to embark on a regenerative anti-aging health programme at the Lucia Magnani Health Clinic called The Long-Life Formula, based on over 40 years of scientific research.
“We are leaders in research on oxidative stress and processes to slow down aging”, said the clinic’s founder and CEO Lucia Magnani. “Our collaboration with experts and scientific institutions is focused on the development of new treatments and methodologies to promote longevity and prevent premature aging. The great scientific health value is our foundation, to ensure that people stay healthy for as long as possible.”
Lucia Magnani Health Clinic in Emilia-Romagna is known for its Long-Life Formula programme
Lucia Magnani Health Clinic
Steeped in history, nurtured with medicinal mud, and flowing with healing waters, Lucia Magnani Health Clinic is renowned for its wellness and thermal cures. The clinic is also the home of the Long-Life Formula, where age translates into youth, stress lines are ironed into a smile and worries melt into yesterday. It’s the reason I’m here.
The Long-Life formula aims to improve an individual’s life according to their needs using advanced medical equipment, highly qualified professionals, and a customized regime formulated from health evaluations, all to enhance life via positive lifestyle practises.
The clinic sits in the heart of Emilia-Romagna, about 80 kilometres southeast of Bologna. Stroked by acres of parkland, the retreat connects visitors with the tranquil sounds of nature,
The clinic’s adjoining Grand Hotel Castrocaro, together with its Art Decò Padiglione delle Feste (Party Pavilion), relives the elegance of the 20s and 30s.
Rooms & Suites
The health clinic is more of a stylish minimalist hotel with gleaming marble flooring and restful areas for peaceful reflection.
There are 104 spacious and contemporary guestrooms. From superior rooms to a two-bedroom, three-bathroom penthouse suite with private elevator access, kitchen, balcony and whirlpool tub, maximum comfort and relaxation is the goal.
Those signing up for the Long Life Formula programmes stay in the Long Life rooms and suites of the Health Clinic. (The hotel is linked to the clinic and guests use the allocated tables in the hotel restaurant for dinner).
The Long Life suites are 50-55 square metres with parquet or marble flooring, park view (based on availability), double or twin beds with memory foam mattresses, a minibar, air conditioning, free Wi-Fi, and an LCD TV.
All are elegantly decorated in natural creamy and grey hues to enhance the overall soothing experience of each programme.
Personalised Programmes
I had never met a ‘Long-Life Angel’ until this visit. Smartly suited in white, mine was my allocated guardian throughout my three-night stay. I had chosen the Evergreen Programme which was focused specifically on anti-aging.
My schedule was the result of various consultations and tests analysed by the clinic’s laboratories. Ranging from physical reawakening, memorable sensory experiences, and oriental practices to regenerative ozone therapies, various treatments were integrated into a personalised schedule, devised to reprogram unhealthy lifestyle habits.
I fought with weights in aqua aerobics. A gravity bed suspended me in space while advanced AI technology stimulated and tested my brain. The posture doctor made me stand to attention.
“Head back, shoulders down, belly in, chest out, walk with conviction” are instructions that stick with me today. (Posture is a sign of age and mood; if left without correction, the body grows into a slouched stance).
Yoga was authentic and thought-provoking with a harmonium playing soothing sounds amidst magnificent frescoes by the acclaimed Tito Chini in the historic Party Pavilion.
And what better place to enjoy a toning massage than cradled in one of the designer-styled treatment rooms – spacious, beautifully decorated with attention firmly on the meaning of relaxation with cosy touches such as a warming cupboard for the after-treatment bathrobe. Bliss.
Other programmes range from Weight Loss, Clean (detox), Relax, Energy (recovery), Sport, Restart (rehabilitation) and Happiness Route.
An Underground Spa
The secret treasure is found via a labyrinth of tunnels that leads to lime-green waters brimming with beneficial minerals. Here you could float through to the thermal pool outside and be transported to a Romanesque space guarded by stone walls, trickled by a fountain.
This underground spa sanctuary oozes well-being from every alcove bathed in low lighting, revealing further hideaways to relax: bio-aromatic sauna, steam bath, Finnish spa, Turkish bath with chromotherapy and gravity beds.
Mud Glorious Mud
Recent studies on mud therapy of the Baths of Castrocaro, in collaboration with the University of Pisa, have shown reparative properties to slow the aging process of biological tissues. Twice I was plastered in the velvet mud that makes this place famous.
The naturally maturing muds of the Baths of Castrocaro are produced using fine blue clays of the surrounding hills. The wealth of benefits is topped up with the mineral-rich waters of Castrocaro, allegedly formed when the land was submerged by the sea. Today they flow into reserves and are used for therapeutic spa treatments.
The thermal water also contains the seaweed Chlorella a natural anti-aging element.
Regular Nutritious Eating
To my delight, my dining schedule involved eating five times a day. I could choose from portioned ingredients for breakfast and snacks. Lunch and dinner were gourmet affairs that appeared like art in a bowl, and based on a Mediterranean diet using low-temperature cooking and fresh local and colourful ingredients as well as laces of pasta and even coffee.
A 3-course lunch included steamed spinach with almonds and chicken fillet with lemon curry. Dinner presented menus such as cream of zucchini with marjoram followed by octopus skewer with cherry tomatoes and salsa verde. I paired it with a glass of Rosso Magnani high oxidant wine – Saluti!
I dined during the day overlooking fountains and under shading trees silhouetted by hazy sunshine. In the evening I chose the terrace of the Grand Hotel’s restaurant overlooking the gardens.
A small restaurant in the Lucia Magnani Health Clinic serves breakfast and lunch with tables that spill into attractive gardens.
Lifestyle Practices to Take Home
I had been slathered in medicinal mud, coated in oils, cosseted in warm sheets and wrapped in a fluffy soft bathrobe all of which had recovered my youth and added an inner radiance under the guidance of a Long Life Angel. I had met friendly ladies at lunch cuddling their dog companions, also benefiting from five-star health.
Equipped with a book detailing my health and recommendations to continue along this healthy path at home, I left with renewed knowledge of Italian architecture and history.
And, thanks to the Posture Doctor, an additional two centimetres in height! Grazie mille!
Plan your stay: Lucia Magnani Health Clinic
What’s Included?
A 3-day Evergreen programme in a Long-Life Prestige Room starts from €3,500.00 and includes:
-Medical check-up (blood tests, ECG at rest, GP visit, complete ultrasound of abdomen, ultrasound of abdomen fat and examination of muscles.)
-Oxidative stress complete analysis
-Nutritional check-up (physical activity check-up, family history of diabetes, fat mass and lean mass analysis and specific diet during your stay)
-Physical activity check-up (fitness test to identify personal training intensity, workout sessions created ad hoc for you, outdoor activities)
-Posture education (mobility of spine, improving sitting posture, postural medical examination and identification of posture defects
-Beauty and thermal spa treatments (including Thermal Rain Body Exfoliation, everyday access to the spa and thermal pools, selection of personalised as well as Long-Life Formula anti-aging treatment, anti-aging jet peel, and thermal baths
-Full board hospitality (breakfast, lunch, dinner and two daily snacks are included in the rate, overnight stay in a Long Life Formula room, welcome package including tracksuit, bathrobe, slippers and daily access to solarium terrace with outdoor pool and jacuzzi as well as the indoor and outdoor thermal pools and spa).
All programmes include a medical check-up, dietary advice, postural education, specific physical activity planning, a range of beauty and spa treatments – natural and innovative.
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BeSeeingYou In: The Lucia Magnani Clinic, Castrocaro, Emilia Romagna, Italy
Good To Know: This health clinic is famous for its medicinal mud so take advantage of the various therapeutic mud treatments
WOW! Factor: The Spa is an amazing oasis of tranquillity. Make sure you schedule time to enjoy it.
Tip: Don’t forget to take a few peaceful walks in the forest
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Author bio: Jane Wilson, The Wellness Traveller
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Photo courtesy of Lucia Magnani Health Clinic
