Vannacci appoints a national director for spas and aims to win over the sector’s votes

The organisational chart of Futuro Nazionale has been expanded to include a new role: the national head of thermal tourism. His name? Umberto Fusco. "It was my idea," he tells Il Foglio. "Today, our party is the only one to have such a role within its ranks. Spas are a massive economic driver." Before becoming a Futurist, Fusco was active in the Lega, for whom he also served as a senator until 2022. "I tried to push the Carroccio to take action on the issue of thermal tourism. But I never received a reply." In Roberto Vannacci, however, he found a willing ear. "I’m very grateful to him for listening to me. After all, he began his rise to prominence in a spa town like Viterbo, thanks to an event I organised." The year was 2024; thermal tourism was among the topics discussed at the meeting, and the general was still a member of the Lega. But it was in Il Foglio that Fusco foresaw a different future: "Ask yourselves one thing: why doesn’t my friend the general want to join the Carroccio? There’s going to be quite a show," he had said. Now that Vannacci’s party is surging in the polls, Vannacci has decided to reward Fusco’s foresight with an appointment tailor-made for him. "I’ve been involved in the spa sector since I was a city councillor in Viterbo," recalls the former Lega member, who doesn’t deny that this insight could also be useful to the general for electoral purposes: "That’s politics for you. The sector has been neglected over the years. We need to stand by these entrepreneurs, and those who use their services would be pleased too." 

Yet over the years, the sector has been anything but neglected by political parties. From 2021 to 2022, a €200 ‘spa bonus’ (with a total fund of €53 million) was in place, designed to encourage the purchase of spa services at accredited establishments. Meanwhile, in 2024, Forza Italia and the Lega even considered a tax credit to cover 50 per cent of the refurbishment costs for spa businesses, with a maximum limit of 250,000 euros per beneficiary. So what are the main problems to be solved? “I’m not sure, I’m not really involved in the spa sector,” says the head of spa tourism. He then gradually brings up the issues plaguing the sector: “When someone visits a public spa area and needs to use the toilet, they certainly can’t go to the portable toilets – they’re disgusting. We have to do something.” And what else? "We need to redevelop state-owned sites, but we also need to tackle costs to make the spas accessible to everyone. It shouldn’t be the case that you have to take out a loan just to have a spa treatment. If there’s competition, prices will come down. We need free access to thermal spas.” This certainly won’t be achieved by applying the European Bolkestein Directive, from which the sector managed to be exempted in 2018 (following a fierce legal battle led by Federterme), thereby removing the obligation for the sector to renew and award concessions through public tenders, as it is an industry that also provides healthcare services. "Thermal spas can be a complementary service to the national health service. In Viterbo, there are people who use thermal water to treat wounds that won’t heal,” says Fusco. He already has plans to carry out a census of all spa resorts in Italy and then to propose a training programme to prepare future professionals in the sector, as well as to talk to operators and “raise awareness amongst local authorities to take back control of abandoned public spas. ‘From today,’ promises Fusco, ‘we’ll be organising lots of events at spa resorts.’" 

On the other hand, Vannacci’s passion for ancient Rome fits in well with his focus on thermal baths. It was the ancient Romans, two thousand years ago, who built thermal baths in every corner of their empire. It was during their era that the sector reached the height of its importance for the cult of the body, between the calidarium and the frigidarium. And it is precisely that historical period – that world of legions and sesterces – to which Vannacci draws inspiration in the countless AI-generated videos he posts on social media, in which he appears dressed as a Roman emperor and even decrees the death of figures from the political spectrum in an arena. “Vannacci is the emperor,” jokes Fusco. Meanwhile, the general continues to prefer the salt waters of Lido di Camaiore, in Tuscany, to sulphurous springs. From there today, he has begun giving away a kit of ‘identity-themed’ gadgets featuring a spade, a bucket and a water pistol. All bearing the ‘Futuro Nazionale’ brand, of course.