Tripmasters and Other Travel Professionals Invited to Croatia and Italy (Part 6 of 6: Salsomaggiore Terme)

In May 2023, the European Historic Thermal Towns Association (EHTTA), a cultural route affiliated with the Council of Europe, hosted a FAM (familiarization) trip for travel professionals to experience areas that were not currently offered in the form of vacation packages by our companies. This trip was hosted in direct collaboration with the European Travel Commission (ETC), Croatian National Tourism Board (CNTB) and the Italian National Tourist Board (ENIT); the ETC helped the participants with booking every segment necessary for our airline tickets, and each of the tourism boards helped to organize the itineraries and sights we saw on this trip. Eight different companies and organizations from across North America participated, including Tripmasters. This is the last of six Inspiration blogs where you can see my journey as it happened and read about my first-hand experiences traveling in these beautiful countries.

As you’ll read below, we’re about to experience Salsomaggiore Terme, which is the final leg of the trip! So, if you’ve missed out on any of my past FAM trip tales from Zagreb, Lipik, Daruvar, Varaždinske Toplice, Varaždin, and Opatija in Croatia or Montegrotto Terme-Abano Terme in Italy, be sure to click on those links and experience the wonderful destinations I had the privilege of seeing.

We left the sun in Montegrotto Terme, but our moods were still fairly high as we entered the city limits of Salsomaggiore Terme, nestled just west of Parma. The city’s vibrant green spaces seamlessly integrated into its center and the blending of historic and modern architectures captivated us upon arrival, especially as the drizzly weather made the vegetation greener still.

We were greeted by our local representatives, Rosanna and Laura, and we were handed goody bags to help us get more acquainted with Salsomaggiore Terme. We would only be there one night, but nevertheless the plan was to show us as many sights from the itinerary as time would allow.

After the warm greetings, we briefly settled into the elegant Grand Hotel Salsomaggiore, having just enough time to admire the high-class touches inside this historic property before heading back down to the lobby, after which our guide Rosanna escorted us to the remarkable Palazzo dei Congressi.

This convention hall, seen in pictures below, was built at the turn of the 20th century and is boldly designed in the Liberty architectural style. This majestic palace features airy spaces adorned with hand-painted, geographically-themed interiors. This prestigious setting has hosted, and continues to host, an array of gatherings, each more grand than the next.

Next, we ventured to the upscale pizzeria and bar L’Incontro, renowned for its specialty doughy and crunchy deep-dish-type pizzas. Here, Rosanna handed over the guide’s baton to her superior, Laura, for the remainder of our stay. We were introduced to the newly-elected mayor, Luca Musile Tanzi, who graciously took time out from his busy schedule to welcome our group. We were privileged to meet our share of mayors on this trip, but not any that were literally elected in the past week! He had a lot of appointments on his schedule, I’m sure, but again, the fact that he took the time meant a lot to us and we had a good time talking with him.

My palate was delighted by a delectable slice of seafood pizza, a combination that defies the belief that seafood and cheese make strange bedfellows.

You simply haven’t lived until you’ve had pizza with fresh squid and other seafood delights as toppings!

Post-lunch, Laura led our group to the final major sites — the awe-inspiring Castello di Tabiano and the serene ZOJA thermal spa center. The rain did little to dim the grandeur of the privately-owned castle, where we were introduced to Claire, who would be leading us through the special private tour of this private residence. Our tour included a look into some of the castle’s public quarters and glimpses into its current functioning, for example, we were allowed to see dining and front parlor areas that are accessed by the current owner, who is in his 90s and still quite active and vital.

At the end of the tour, we met the owner’s great-grandson, a nice young man who I believe was in his 20s. That encounter was a delight for many of us, who lit up when we heard words such as “castle heir”, evoking images of Fabio Lanzoni caressing long-haired maidens on romance novel covers. The “castle heir” in question is quite down to Earth and was very kind with us, admitting that he isn’t used to people fawning over him like we did! Many of us, myself included, are in happy relationships or marriages, so the nice “castle heir” is free from our googly eyes and clumsy attempts to co-own a castle.

A brief tour of the ZOJA thermal spa center was followed by some well-deserved relaxation at the Grand Hotel Salsomaggiore’s own spa. The various thermal pools offered a uniquely calming experience, especially the walk-through pool with alternating temperatures and the therapeutic whirlpool.

Our trip culminated with a heartfelt farewell dinner at the Grand Hotel’s main restaurant, serving some of the most exquisite dishes we’d tasted yet. (Isn’t the plating absolutely gorgeous?) In the bar area just outside the restaurant, the walls are lined with famous Italian celebrities who have stayed at the hotel. Of course the fan favorite singer Raffaella Carrà is up there.

The ensuing packing and preparations for our early flight from Malpensa carried a tinge of bittersweet sentiment, as we were indeed enchanted by Salsomaggiore Terme. The Grand Hotel Salsomaggiore’s staff was wonderful, even going as far as to pack breakfasts for us before we left because they knew we had early flights. Grazie!

Milan Malpensa is a fairly large airport and it will take some prior planning to figure out where you need to go when it’s time to go home. The various terminals are interconnected and baggage and ticketing are located on the ground floor of departures. Just find the signs for your airline, drop off your bags, and proceed toward security.

Despite its size, the airport proved quite navigable, with clear English signage. As this is a larger airport, we recommend arriving three hours prior to departure, to ensure ample time for checking bags, passing security, and reaching your terminal.

Traveler Tip: Don’t forget to account for potential queue time at the Dufry Duty Free shop if you plan to grab some last-minute souvenirs. Trust me on this one, I learned the hard way, standing 30 minutes in line with armfuls of KitKats and Grisbì cookies!

Final thoughts:

I was, and am, so thankful to have had the experiences I did, as I feel that with hands-on travel experience, I can become even better at my job developing accurate content for Tripmasters clients. I know for me the worst feeling is to get to a new city after having read an itinerary and realize “that’s too much!” or “oh, I can’t possibly do all that!” These real-life experiences help me learn about destinations but also how to accurately portray travel experiences to our clients.

Special thanks go to the EHTTA (Simone Zagrodnik, Markos Danas, and Ana Belén Fernandez), the ETC for their airfare considerations, the CNTB and ENIT for their work in bringing their gorgeous sights to us on the tour, and of course many thanks, hvala and grazie, to all of the local tour guides, tourism professionals, and remarkable people we met along the way. This custom itinerary was illuminating with regard to the history of European thermal spa towns and also to the current importance of thermal spa towns in European daily life, not just in Croatia or in Italy but continent-wide.

I’m also very thankful to have had the chance to network, share experiences, and become friends with a diverse group of travel professionals from across North America. Everyone’s love for travel and for Europe shone through and I’m sincerely happy I met all of you.

In Italy we would hear a lot of people say “Allora…” (“Now then…” or “Well…”) It was always delivered in a joyful lilt, no matter who said it or in what circumstance. As my time on the trip drew to a close, I was sad to go home because I wouldn’t be around the culture of “Allora…” It’s more than just slang or a stopgap word filler, to me it symbolizes a sense of peace. I felt it. I feel it when I say it. I guess it’s how Italy stays with you once you’re gone.

This is it! We’ve reached the end of the last of the six blog posts recounting the FAM trip on which I, as an envoy for Tripmasters, was an invited guest. The European Historic Thermal Towns Association (EHTTA) organized this trip for North American travel professionals in conjunction with the ETC, CNTB and ENIT, respectively the non-profit organization responsible for the promotion of Europe as a tourist destination and the two national tourism boards involved in the planning of the itinerary. For more information about these terrific organizations, visit www.historicthermaltowns.eu, www.visiteurope.com/en, www.croatia.hr/en-gb, and www.italia.it/en, respectively.

Tripmasters sells a variety of vacation packages from the affordable to the opulent in Croatia, Italy, and over 130 countries and territories worldwide. To learn more about how Tripmasters can revolutionize the way you vacation, check us out at www.tripmasters.com.