Marilena Baggio, Emilio Minelli, Umberto Solimene

WHO Collaborating Centre For Traditional Medicine, University of Milan; Centre of Research of Medical Bioclimatology, Biotechnologies and Natural Medicine — WHO Collaborating Centre For Traditional Medicine, University of Milan, Italy

It is well-known that an improvement of life quality is the best solution to make more effective actions to prevent or even to treat some diseases.

Concerning this purpose the WHO has always stressed that to have good health it’s not only necessary to be healthy, but we need also a full well-being to develop completely our skills. Very often today are built rest places, thermal and beauty farm for the treatment and restore of the psychophysical human body while we are waiting for the man poetic habitat, an idea of cities where the life quality becomes reality.

Following a total and holistic vision of health it is important to take care of rest places which can breed health. At the present the advanced scientific research has proved that nature (parks-gardens) it is not only an aesthetic need for man, but it’s indeed a firm source of well-being and health. A rich literature has begun to study the therapeutic value of the garden therapy.

These places, green areas, parks or gardens when are projected following aesthetic models often don’t become a source of well-being and health. In this perspective, the thermal park, which is in many thermal areas, can have not only an aesthetic function, but also a relaxing place with therapeutic aims that can integrate thermal treatments for a strategic global improvement of life and well-being.

Indeed, along some WHO documents, the promotion of the quality of life can be obtained only through a global strategy. From this point of view the park, the wood or the garden offer a feeling of belonging to a natural world and are the first step toward the well being.

Moreover in the park it’s possible to do some activities like walking or meditating. So the park and the garden remind us that the nature is not around us but it is part of us and we are part of nature.

The design of these areas, in accordance with the garden therapy principles, must be made taking into account the nature the Genius Loci of the place through the study of: the macro and microclimatic environmental structure; the botanical natural, territorial, landscape and historical cultural valence of the site; hospitality need and treatment of the building to which refer; the organization of a initiatory journey in which the semantic and symbolic value, for example the water, is communicated.

The creation of a botanical-naturalistic journey which stimulates five senses increases the olfactory, visual, sense of touch, of taste and hearing sensation.

The healing garden can be also part of a park or of a wood and its size can be bigger or smaller but it is important to have in minded that:

a) It must have the characteristic to remove stress from the people;

b) The place must have a lot of vegetation but also a lot of water which beneficial effects have been pointed out by many scientific studies;

c) It must communicate confidence but also privacy;

d) It must be easily accessible.

The research activity on garden therapy of the WHO Collaborating Centre For TRM of Milan is base on a multi-interdisciplinary team of psychologists, botanic and landscape architect.