Um Balneário nas Margens do Douro: Intervenção nas Termas das Caldas do Moledo

Abstract

Water has always been an element of physical enjoyment and spiritual benefit for human beings. From very early on, water has been an essential good and is part of many of the activities humans perform in their daily life. The discovery of medicinal properties in the waters coming from thermal springs triggered a new use for this natural element, the baths. From this point on, European thermal culture developed over time, from the time when baths were taken in pools dug in the ground, to the time when water conquered a physical space in society, expressed through various thermal establishments. Portugal follows this thermal enthusiasm and buildings of great grandeur appear on a national level, namely the first thermal hospital in the world, the hospital of Caldas da Rainha. The spas of Caldas do Moledo, despite not representing the same impact as the previous establishment, was a spa of national renown, mainly for the diversity and quality of its thermal springs and the large number of diseases to which they could be applied. The intervention in the Caldas hot springs was to choose a building among those that make up the resort and proceed to its renovation and adaptation to the current reality. The choice fell on the bathhouse with the main program of the whole and the one that is believed to have more impact on the entire thermal park, the Piscinas do Rio. The intervention sought to preserve the spirit of the establishment and achieve what is already intended, not only by municipal entities, but also by the entire population of Peso da Régua, bring back this space that treated so many patients in the past and, at the same time, encourage investment in the remaining park and historic buildings of Moledo that have unique qualities throughout the county.