THE FIRST RECORDS OF THE USE OF THERMAL WATERS AND THE FORMATION OF THERMAL CITIES IN BRAZIL

Abstract

This paper addresses the first records of the use of thermal waters for therapeutic purposes in Brazil, the prestige and the practical consolidation of hydrotherapy as a medicinal treatment and it investigates how the spread of these practices stimulated the development of tourism and the formation of spas in Brazil from the late nineteenth century, particularly addressing the relationship between the urban layout and the therapeutic and tourist functions of these cities.