BENEDICT OF NURSIA

ITALIAN, 480-547 CE

Benedict of Nursia founded his first monastery at Monte Cassino in 529 CE. He encouraged the use of therapeutic bathing, and his Benedictine order would be instrumental in the founding of numerous spas, including the one at Bad Ragaz in northeastern Switzerland in 740 CE. Members of religious groups could obtain permission to visit the spas, and they were mainly used for religious purposes or to heal the sick. However, for some Benedictine monks (particularly those in Britain) bathing was discouraged, and some only took three or four a year.