THE HISTORY OF THE BATHS OF THE BAY OF NAPLES AND BUDAPEST FOR A POSSIBLE COMPARISON OF SAFEGUARDING AND VALORIZATION

In the history of relations between Italy and Hungary, the events of the Agnano thermal baths constitute a connecting element between the two countries thanks to the presence of a Hungarian doctor who had the opportunity to get to know and visit the area now occupied by the thermal plant and the entire surrounding area. Taking advantage of the Hungarian doctor's entrepreneurial intuition, an important work of reclamation and enhancement of the area's thermal baths began. Through a historical analysis of the places, the natural elements, the cultural, tangible and intangible heritage of the site, and the potential for socio-economic development, the state of the art of the spa phenomenon in the Bay of Naples is defined, accompanied by research, including iconographic research, and an in-depth study of the Agnano spa area. The aim of the paper is to fuel the current scarce debate on the subject, for a comparison of the potential and development prospects of thermalism in the two countries and two cities: Naples and Budapest.