L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2018 www.italoamericano.org 14 L'Italo-Americano SIMONE SANNIO E ven though present- day hospitals all around the world are basically centers pro- viding medical assis- tance and rehabilitation of the sick, the forerunners to these institutions were originally con- ceived in a broader sense as "places of hospitality:" hence the similarity between the two terms (both deriving from the Latin hospes, that is, guest). In Medieval Tuscany, when flocks of pilgrims used to cross the region by walking along the Via Francigena, hospitals were called spedali (ospedali in modern Ital- ian) and served mainly as a refuge for wanderers. Nowadays, some of these ancient buildings still exist. What is more, many of them still reveal their original function as real touchstones in the development of the era's architectural perfection: one need only think of the Spedale di Santa Maria della Scala in Siena, or else of the famous Spedale degli Innocenti in central Flo- rence, probably the earliest example of Italian Renaissance architecture. Let's take a tour of Tuscany and go in search of the most beautiful ancient spedali! A similar journey to discover what unexpected history and sur- prising artistic beauty the Tuscan "hospitals" can offer shall neces- sarily begin in the city of Firen- ze, "cradle of the Renaissance" and capital of Tuscany. In partic- ular, our tour of this region can- not but start from the aforemen- tioned Istituto degli Innocenti, also known as Spedale di Santa Maria degli Innocenti (Institute and Hospital of Saint Mary of the Innocents). Named after the bib- lical episode of the Massacre of the Holy Innocents, this well- known 15th century spedale is often regarded as the oldest foundling hospital and orphanage in the world. Despite its histori- cal importance in the care of abandoned children, however, the place's reputation is mainly due to its undeniable artistic mer- its: characterized by the perfect harmony of the front loggia over- looking Piazza della Santissima Annunziata, the building's design was realized by none other than the great master Filippo Brunelleschi, precisely in the same years he was also working on his greatest masterpiece, the dome of the Florence Cathedral. Started by Brunelleschi in the year 1419 on behalf of the pow- erful Silk Guild (Arte della Seta), in the following decades the pro- ject of the Spedale degli Innocen- ti was carried out by other artists with several changes and addi- tions. One of the most notable decorative elements of the cur- rent façade – namely the blue- colored terracotta tondi (medal- lions) with reliefs of babies by sculptor Andrea della Robbia – was added in the 1480s, while parts of the cloisters had earlier been completed by the architect Francesco Della Luna. As for the vaults of the outer portico, they were frescoed only in the early 17th century by Bernardino Poc- cetti, who lived here in the hos- pital during his last years, giving his own mastery of painting in exchange for "hospitality." Nowadays, some of the artis- tic treasures that have populated the Spedale degli Innocenti over the centuries are still visible either in the local church or in the hospital's little museum, which includes – among others – one of Domenico del Ghirlandaio's masterpieces (The Adoration of the Magi), paint- ings by Sandro Botticelli and ter- racottas by Luca della Robbia. The artistic field in which the Spedale has been most influen- tial, however, is undoubtedly architecture, as one can realize by simply taking a quick look at the rest of Piazza Santissima Annunziata. It appears that the façades of other buildings over- looking the same square were also based on Brunelleschi's Spedale, so as to adhere the Piaz- za to the standards of Renais- sance proportion. We can see that clearly in the portico of Michelozzo and Leon Battista Alberti's Basilica della Santissi- ma Annunziata (Basilica of the Most Holy Annunciation), as well as in the Loggia dei Servi di Maria (Loggia of the Servants of Mary) built by Antonio da San- gallo the Elder and Baccio d'Ag- nolo on the opposite side of the square. Of course, being so influential in the architecture of the period, the features of the Spedale degli Innocenti also became a model for several other spedali both in and outside Florence. For exam- ple, the front loggia of the former Ospedale di San Paolo in Piazza Santa Maria Novella and espe- cially that of the Ospedale del Ceppo in the city of Pistoia include other marvelous tondoes by Andrea and Giovanni della Robbia, respectively (the spedale in Pistoia, however, also has a unique ceramic glaze frieze by Santi Buglioni). On the other hand, it goes without saying that the long series of Tuscany's ancient hospitals is not at all lim- ited to the Spedale degli Innocen- ti and the other spedali that were inspired by it. At least three more Florentine spedali are definitely worth remembering because of their ties with local art and history. First of all, the former Ospedale di San Matteo, now hosting the Accademia di Belle Arti and the Galleria dell'Accademia in which you can find Michelangelo's David, among many other mas- terpieces. In addition, the old Spedale di Santa Maria dell'U- miltà and the Ospedale di Santa Maria Nuova: whereas the for- mer was founded by Simone Vespucci, relative to the explorer Amerigo, we owe the latter – the only one still in use – to Folco Portinari, the father of Dante Alighieri's beloved Beatrice. According to tradition, then, it was precisely in this second hos- pital that Leonardo da Vinci used to dissect cadavers for his groundbreaking studies of anato- my. All in all, by touring the region's best-known ancient spedali one is soon convinced that in Florence, Tuscany, and Italy as a whole you can find a lot of history and art even in the places you would not expect: among them, hospitals. To be convinced once again about this, and to conclude our tour, one has only to leave behind Firenze and go see Siena's Spedale di Santa Maria della Scala and the trea- sures it hides in its museum, or else the hundreds of little spedali that punctuated the route of the ancient Via Francigena, starting from the Spedale del Bigallo in Bagno a Ripoli. But again, one finds that the intersection between fine arts and hospitals went well beyond the borders of Tuscany: the building of the for- mer Ospedale Maggiore in Milan, now hosting the Univer- sità degli Studi di Milano, is another perfect example of that. Finding art and hospitality in Tuscany's ancient Spedali The facade of the old Hospital of Santa Maria della Scala in Siena, Italy, now a museum, facing the Cathedral LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE Tourists and locals rest on the stairs and under the arcade of the Hospital of the Innocents (Ospedale delli Innocenti)

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