Aquardens spa, on the outskirts of Verona, is typically the epitome of tranquility. Natural thermal springs feed expansive indoor and outdoor pools. Vineyards on the foothills of the Italian Alps grace the horizon. There are steam rooms, saunas, and a snow alcove, where snowflakes waft down on visitors wishing to cool off after a sweating session. But for a week this fall, the thudding bass of electronic dance music emanates from inside the spa’s largest sauna.
Abandoning my flipflops and possibly my dignity, I adjust my towel and join the gleeful crowd of more than 200 naked people rushing into the eighty-five-degree Celsius sauna to a blaring remix of “Losing It” by the DJ Fisher.