A fairytale of inner beauty

This modern-day miracle has a history dating back a thousand years, when an order of Dominican friars started cultivating “semplice”, as medicinal plants were known then, at the Santa Maria Novella monastery in Florence. They made everything from essences, elixirs and balms to distillates of herbs and flowers, but it was the rosewater in particular, according to Florentine chronicles, that came to fame for its refreshing and uplifting properties. It wasn’t long before the friary opened a dispensary to ply their wares next to the “giardino dei semplice”. In 1612, that dispensary became the celebrated Farmacia di Santa Maria Novella, the oldest pharmacy in Europe, and by the 18th century, its herbal remedies had travelled as far as China and India. These precious Santa Maria Novella potions have been on world tour ever since, arriving  – at last! – in the T Spa at Grand Hotel Tremezzo and inspiring a signature product line as well as one of the world’s most powerful and original spa treatments.

Like most rituals, the best way to begin this amazing treatment is in a cloud of steam, surrounded by the beauty of T Spa’s Turkish bath. Next, the shock of an icy slush from an antique mosaic basin to activate the circulation, perhaps a few minutes in the sauna overlooking Lake Como, then wrap up in a cozy bathrobe and we are ready. Our massage therapist? The best of storytellers.

Who among us – when stress and exhaustion get the best of us – hasn’t dreamed of becoming Sleeping Beauty from our childhood fairytales? Falling into a deep, sweet sleep that soothes the body, relaxing first the muscles, then the heart and finally the mind. Isn’t that the fairytale ending that we all dream of as adults? This was also the fairytale – which, not entirely coincidentally, appeared in Charles Perrault’s collection at almost the same time that the Farmacia di Santa Maria Novella opened its doors – that inspired us to create a one-of-a-kind treatment: the Lake Como Sleep Ritual, 110 minutes of pure, soul-satisfying wellness that relaxes your body so deeply that you will sleep, dream and wake up again radiant, relaxed, content.

This “once upon a time” ritual starts with a scrub containing herbs foraged beside our beloved lake, first and foremost helichrysum, or everlasting flower, known for its powerful anti-inflammatory action, along with other flowers and lavender essential oil. The skin is ready, tingling as if to say, “What’s next?” Our therapist moves on to the muscles, so often stiff with a thousand worries, warming and loosening them with an ultra-soft muslin pouch filled, once again, with lavender flowers, prized for centuries for their decongestant and relaxing properties. Our fairytale is nearing its conclusion, the forest of thorns around Princess Aurora’s castle about to open, for the time has come for a long, deliciously drawn-out massage from head to toe. The body is at ease, yet also thoroughly invigorated. One more gentle touch, one last rite of passage, a facial massage with orange blossom water and the renowned Crema F from Santa Maria Novella scented with the white petals of the Rosa Gardenia. Will the prince ever show up to wake us with his fateful kiss? It hardly matters any more. Our fairytale of an authentic, deeply-felt inner beauty has already come true.