The starting flag has been waved indicating the beginning of construction work on the new Spa centre in Premia, in Ossola.

The site will soon be opened for the construction of the second building lot, which will stand alongside the indoor thermal pool already built. This should allow Premia to become a new star in the Piedmont sky. The mayor of this small Ossola town, Martinetti, can hardly contain his satisfaction: "the Spa is an action that we have always believed in. It's an opportunity to create jobs for our people and to add value to our territory, destined to produce beneficial effects not only on a local scale but in all of the Verbano Cusio Ossola area".

The total cost of work on the second lot is € 8,460,000, € 6,131,00 of which comes from the Regione Piemonte through inter-ministerial committee funds for economic planning and € 2,279,00 from Premia council. The centre will be open throughout the year and will offer inhalation treatment, mud therapy, balneotherapy and accident recovery treatment. Completion is expected by spring 2007.

The water. The first hydro-mineral tests in Premia (a town with 620 inhabitants at an altitude of about 800m in the Veglia-Devero Nature Park area) were carried out in 1993. They surveys showed that the Longia source, situated at 760 metres in altitude in the communal territory between San Rocco and Balmaric, springs at a depth of 248 metres beneath the soil with a constant temperature of 42.5° and an average constant flow of 15 litres per second, or 54 cubic metres per hour drawn by an electric pump placed 12 metres below the soil.

The bacteriologic, chemical and physical analysis carried out by the universities of Turin and Novara revealed that the Longia Source is bacteriologically pure, rich in mineral salts, with a fixed residue of 1780° of 1.414mg per litre. The pharmacological study, conducted by the university of Pavia revealed that Premia's water is suitable for inhalation therapy for respiratory care, mud therapy and balneotherapy.