This Italian travel and health poster promotes the spa resort Riolo Terme in the province of Ravenna, a town known for its therapeutic mineral springs. Produced in the 1930s –1940s for the Italian tourism authority ENIT – Ente Nazionale Italiano per il Turismo, the poster advertises the spa’s treatments for respiratory illnesses, particularly asthma.

The slogan 'taglia l’asma alla radice' ('cut asthma at the root') is illustrated with a pair of pruning shears cutting the roots of a flowering plant, a visual metaphor for eliminating illness at its source. This clever symbolic approach – combining bold typography, stylised botanical imagery and a clean graphic layout – is typical of mid-century Italian health and tourism posters used to promote thermal spa destinations throughout the country.

Year: 1940s

Dimensions:100cm x 70cm 

Materials/Media: Original lithograph, linen backed