Ocnele Mari and Ocnița: the architecture of a forgotten spa potential

12 kilometers west of Râmnicu Vâlcea, on the salty valleys that descend from the Subcarpathians towards Olt, Ocnele Mari and the neighboring village of Ocnița concentrate layers of memory and resources that have been overlapping for centuries: salt mining since antiquity, a spa center born in the 19th century, a spectacular morphology (with the "Râpa Evantai"/"Râpa Corbilor") - a unique 15-hectare geological reserve of national interest (protected area) and a local culture of crafts - from pottery in Buda to the porch households of Lunca. Against this backdrop, what can be called a 'social architecture' of baths took shape: pavilions, seasonal cottages, weekend bungalows and utilitarian buildings, all designed to link the natural resource (salt) to the body and life of the community. Today, Ocnele Mari is a town with its component villages (Ocnița, Lunca, Buda), but the spa function is no longer as coherent as it once was. Although the tourist salt resort is attractively arranged -