Dr. Mário Carneiro: the life and work of the 1st Clinical Director of Termas de Chaves in a new exhibition

On display until 31 December at the Balneário Flaviense, the exhibition marks the beginning of the Low Season in Therapeutic Thermalism.

Dr Mário Carneiro, the first Clinical Director of the Termas de Chaves, was one of the most important figures in Thermalism in the Chaves region and is now honoured in a unique exhibition at the Balneário Flaviense. Documents, photographs, paintings and other personal objects form part of a collection that can now be visited until 31 December and which highlights the doctor's remarkable career and work. The initiative takes place in a year in which the Termas de Chaves have seen an increase in demand and marks the start of the Therapeutic Thermalism Low Season, on 16 October.

For Brigite Gonçalves, Administrator of the Termas de Chaves, which was awarded the ‘Five Star Regions 2024 Award’, ‘this is a gesture that magnifies all of Dr Mário's contributions to promoting our Termas and the benefits of the Chaves Natural Mineral Water. We felt that this was the ideal time to pay this tribute, not only because of the start of the Low Season for Therapeutic Thermalism, but also because of the demand that the Flavi Spa has seen in recent months,’ she said.

Mário Gonçalves Carneiro was one of the most important personalities in the promotion of thermalism, both nationally and internationally, dedicating almost his entire life to the city and to the valorisation and preservation of Água Termal Flaviense. A journey that began on 22 September 1945, when he was appointed the first Clinical Director of the Chaves Hydrological Spa, a position he held for several years and through which he was able to influence and transform the city's spa offer. Throughout these years, he contributed to, defended and publicised the spa, promoting the development and construction of new spas and implementing new and varied treatments that are still used today.