A new luxury spa has opened at the Portopiccolo Resort in Sistiana, Northern Italy.

Designed by Italian architect Alberto Apostoli, the facility is spread across three floors and covers a total floor area of 3,600sq ft (38,800sq ft).

The ground floor houses the reception, hairstyling studio, a training pool and changing rooms.

On the first floor there is a relaxation area dominated by an indoor-outdoor pool, offering views of the Sistiana Bay through large panoramic windows.

As well as the pool, the relaxation area has been equipped with water features, emotional showers, a Kneipp path, a hammam, tepidarium, calidarium, frigidarium, a biosauna and a Finnish sauna.

There is also a salt cave – where guests can inhale micronized iodine or bathe in the salt tub – a gym floor, a personal trainer studio and a bar serving the wellness area.

The second floor has been dedicated entirely to treatments. It houses a spa reception, numerous treatment rooms and a panoramic VIP suite for couples.

According to Alberto Apostoli, the design of the spa mirrors its location above the picturesque Sistiana Bay.

“The design concept was to follow the the cliffs overlooking the sea,” Apostoli said. “The interior alternates natural-coloured stone with the transparency of glass, lightening the structure, merging it with the context of the surrounding gulf and opening up breathtaking views for guests.

“The focus on wellness permeates the whole structure, starting from a more collective and choral dimension, on the ground floor, and closing increasingly to intimacy and privacy as you ascend to the floors above. The building is fully glazed, providing perfect inter-connection between interior and exterior.”

The spa is part of the larger Portopiccolo resort, which houses a luxury hotel, 454 sea-view residences, a harbour with 116 moorings, a beach-club and 10 bars and restaurants.

Portopiccolo has been built as an eco-sustainable, “zero-impact” resort and is located at the heart of the Gulf of Trieste.

It is the centrepiece of an environmental rehabilitation and urban regeneration project, which has turned the former Sistiana Bay quarry – abandoned in the 1970s – into a vibrant, tourism and wellness-led community.