Tag: Santa Maria Nuova
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Santa Maria Nuova: Curing and caring
Michael MortellaroFlorida, USA The concept of a hospital for sick people first emerged in the western world in late medieval Italy. A prime example of this was the Florentine hospital Santa Maria Nuova, which the humanist Cristoforo Landino dubbed “the first hospital among Christians” in 1430.1 Italian hospitals of the Renaissance also left an impression…
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The Spedale of Santa Maria Nuova in Florence
Donatella LippiLuigi PadelettiFlorence, Italy The spedale of Santa Maria Nuova was founded in June 1288 by Folco di Ricovero dei Portinari, father of Dante’s Beatrice, who bought some houses in the centre of Florence to receive poor people who needed help. At first the hospital could only accept men from the large crowd of people…