An acronym for the Roman saying salus par aquam, today the term 'spa' is still used for places where certain water-based therapies are carried out, but has come to include a range of treatments associated with physical and psychological wellbeing. The recent proliferation of spas has entailed a complete rethink of the architectural features associated with such places, by which the new interior designs borrow numerous semantic cues from the ancient cults of community bathing, interpreting them to create arenas of multi-sensory experience, with increasing emphasis on narrative features that provide settings for the new rituals of body care. Text in English and Italian. ILLUSTRATIONS 269 colour illustrations