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GALLERY
Italy, 15 C. & before
da Vinci, Leonardo
Governo e cura degli infermi – The Care of the Sick or The Care and Governance of the Infirm is undoubtedly one of the most famous and oldest depictions of the hospital activities in the world. The fresco is one of six painted by the artist from Siena, Domenico di Bartolo (ca. 1400- ca. 1447). Studying this work will not only reproduce some of the hospital's rooms, but also give an insight into its daily life, which from the early fourteenth century was governed by strict statutes. In the middle there are the Rector and the oblats of the hospital. A surgeon is ready to perform wound care manipulation. To the left, representing physical medicine a carer places a patient on a stretcher, while two physicians discuss the results of an uroscopy. Below, in the centre, a servant washes a young man wounded in the thigh, preparing him for surgery. At right, on the other side, a monk confesses a sick man while two orderlies carry into the room a stretcher.
MUSEUM
Italy, Siena
In the depths of Tuscany, Siena during the Renaissance laid on a busy Via Francigena, trade and regligiouse route connecting Western and Northern Italy and Europe with Rome. Opposite the majestic Siena Cathedral, Santa Maria della Scala is a remarkable testimony to the history of medicine of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Founded as early as the ninth century, this institution was more than just an ordinary hospital - it was a beacon of hope and compassion for weary pilgrims making the arduous journey along the Via Francigena to Rome and further to the Holy Land. What began as a simple orphanage grew into one of Europe's most famous hospitals, caring not only for pilgrims but also for sick, destitute and abandoned children. By the 12th century it had established itself as a leading centre of medical care, pioneering techniques that shaped the future of medicine in the region. One of the most striking sights of Santa Maria della Scala is the Pellegrinaio Hall (Pilgrims' Hall), whose colourful frescoes depict medical and charitable activities.