Ferrara di Monte Baldo (province of Verona) is the first Municipality in Veneto Region where there is a forest qualified by the Italian Forest Medicine Association for ‘forest baths’ [bosco curativo]. The promotion, in the Monte Cor area, took place with specific expert tests: it improves blood pressure, pulse and sense of well-being.
Ferrara di Monte Baldo is the first Municipality in Veneto, in Italy there are 21, where there is a forest qualified by the Italian Forest Medicine Association for ‘forest bathing’. The Bosco Monte Baldo naturalistic area has been declared by the A.I.Me.F qualification experts, ‘Forest Bathing Centre’, ‘Qualified Area to host Forest Medicine experiences and Forest Therapy/Forest bathing initiatives’.
A showpiece for the municipality of Ferrara di Monte Baldo, which, despite being, with its 270 residents, the least populous in the Veronese area, extends over 26.9 square kilometres and includes many wooded areas. Such as the forest of Monte Cor, rich in biodiversity, characterised by firs and beeches. At the fair Fieracavalli, a small forest will be reconstructed in which experiential activities will be offered. You can experience it in the village, either on your own or with certified guides.
Forest therapy is a therapeutic practice of preventive medicine, which originated in Japan in the 1980s and is gaining increasing popularity in the scientific world and in collective health organisations. Studies from around the world find that spending time in a natural environment can strengthen the immune system, improve mood, normalise blood pressure, increase the amount of NK cells (Natural Killer: white blood cells) by 50 %, which protect us from viruses.
The experts took soil samples, measured air and water quality, noise pollution, indoor and outdoor radiation. Ferrara di Monte Baldo passed the tests with high scores, evaluating the beneficial effects on people. Twenty volunteers underwent forest bathing and tests, measuring their blood pressure, heart rate and blood oxygen. They were given the PSS (Perceived Stress Scale) Test, and, with the Poms (Profile of Mood States) questionnaire, their emotions were measured. Well, immersion in the forest improved all the parameters.
