SPA is an acronym originating during the Roman Empire, when battle-weary legionnaires found a way to recover from their military wounds and ailments. They sought out hot springs and built baths so they could heal their aching bodies; calling these places 'aquae' and naming the treatment there 'Sanus Per Aquam' (SPA) - meaning 'health by or through water'. During this period, the town Spa in Belgium was founded.