As an individual recently recruited in to the "old age" segment of the British population I find it depressing in these times of Brexit and austerity that we are continually being told on TV that our health service in Britain is failing and no longer fit for purpose due to lack of proper funding. It's a sad thought and I can't help feeling that it's the elderly - ie people like me - that will suffer in future as services are rationed. I've found myself becoming interested in looking at the way artists have treated sensitive subjects like care of the elderly and poor, the displaced and of course those that are ill and diseased. I recently discovered a fine example here in Tuscany which we visited on our last trip to Italy and it's timely to share the experience here.
Asked to conjure up an image of a typical hospital, one of the principal institutions that treat the sick and you would probably think of busy modern, functional buildings with interior wards furnished with adjustable beds, high tech monitoring equipment, nurses and doctors in practical scrubs and of course patients being cared for and treated in a myriad of different ways. What you probably would not be imagining is a medieval building with a hospital ward which also functioned as an art gallery. Well that was the situation that prevailed in the hospital I'm going to describe today. It's in Siena and was founded in the 11th century. Surprisingly it only reluctantly gave up its role in the care and treatment of the city's sick a few decades ago. Today the building is home to several important museums, but here I'm limiting my attention to the history of the hospital and the rich legacy it's left behind.
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THE HOSPITAL COMPLEX OF SANTA MARIA DELLA SCALA - SIENA
THE FRONT FACADE OF THE DUOMO CAN BE SEEN IN THE BACKGROUND |
I've been to Siena several times in the last couple of years, once before at Christmas, but somehow I've never chosen to visit the hospital of Santa Maria della Scala housed in an important building right opposite the front door of the Duomo. I've sat on the stone bench attached to its front wall many times to admire the cathedral's spectacular facade without having to crane my neck too much, but never imagined I was sitting on a structure which dated from a special commission of 1378 made for officers of the hospital to sit and watch cathedral ceremonials taking place in the square. I wonder how many important dignitary bottoms had graced the position I'd sat in? - thousands probably! The front facade of the hospital visible in the photograph dates from the 12th century with the oldest part in the middle opposite the steps of the Duomo, The palace of the Rector on the right with its double gothic lancet windows is on the right. The arched doorway on the left is the main entrance to the hospital. I found it hard to imagine that in the 13th century this front facade was frescoed with scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary and though these survived for 300 years no traces of them can be seen now. The entrances at this level gives access to the piano nobile - the most important floor, but over time the hospital expanded and developed down the hillside on which it was built to provide hundreds of rooms and accommodation on several floors all accessed by staircases from the Duomo Square level.. I was looking forward to eventually seeing the cavernous covered street on the lowest level which provided access to the hospital's accommodation from the streets outside. That has now been fully restored and the rooms off it accommodate some of the museum exhibits mentioned.
Legend has it that the hospital was founded in the 9th century by a cobbler turned monk called Beatro Sorore who worked amongst the poor and with orphans - the gettateli - literally "the little throwaways". The character is almost certainly mythical and the earliest trace of a hospital relates to a document of 1090 so it was probably founded by cathedral canons in the 11th century. In the early days its business related to the nearby Via Francigena, an important medieval road which went all the way from Canterbury to Rome and passed underneath the walls of the city of Siena. There were many "ospedali" - places of refuge and succour - along the route and 40 in Tuscany. Santa Maria della Scala was the most important in the region. Gradually the ospedali's functions increased to include helping the poor, treating the sick and taking care of orphaned children from Siena. In times of siege, famine and plague during the medieval period the hospital became a food kitchen for the whole community. Many centuries later - in the 18th century and following a decree by Peter Leopold of the House of Hapsburg-Lorraine, the hospital ceased being a pilgrims' hostel and concentrated entirely on treating the sick. In the 19th century it became the city's University Hospital and it wasn't until 1975 that wards began to be transferred to a new purpose built hospital outside the city walls - much to the regret and disappointment of many Sienese residents.
Though the hospital had religious origins, responsibility for it passed from the cathedral canons firstly to to the hospital monks and then in 1404 to the city council who became responsible for its administration through a chosen rector and governing body. The foundation became rich through bequests and gifts to the extent some of the money was put in to its expansion, but a surplus budget was also allowed for decoration and art work. I've already mentioned the commissioning of art work for the external facade. In 1359 the hospital paid an exorbitant sum of money for a set of relics from Constantinople which purportedly included a nail and a piece of wood from the true cross - these are now displayed in the labyrinthine brick lined rooms which provided accommodation for pilgrims on one of the lower levels. But it was the interior art work commissioned by the rector and the governing body which I'd specially come to see and it didn't disappoint.
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THE MAIN FACADE OF SANTA MARIA DELLA SCALA
The main entrance door is on the left, the Rector's Palace on the right. Note also the 14th century bench. |
After we'd bought our tickets and walked through the gift shop I ensured we made a beeline for the highlight of the hospital on this piano nobile level - the Sala dei Pellegrinaio - The Pilgrim's Hall - always the heart of the hospital. I discovered from looking at the plan that it actually lies behind the outside door opposite the Duomo which gave access to the main entrance hall, but the sheer volume of tourists who come here in summer make it impractical to allow visitors to use this route now.
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| THE MAJESTIC HALL OF THE PILGRIMS IN SANTA MARIA DELLA SCALA - SIENA |
The room was commissioned by the Cistercian friars as a grand, long hall like space with vaulted ceiling in 1380. Using money from the art fund the rector and governers of the hosipital, over a period of time from 1440, commisioned the artists Domenico di Bartolo and Lorenzo di Pietro known as Vecchietta to fresco the room with scenes from the hospital's history and with the aim of promoting the idea of charity towards the sick and orphaned as well as the hospital's prestige. As Jon and I saw that sunny morning, the results are a stunning and wonderfully preserved set of frescoes in semi-circular panels which show largely secular themes (rare at this point in time before the High Renaissance when humanist values promoted such ideas) with insights into daily Sienese life. What was also noteworthy was that we had the place to ourselves there being few visitors at this time of year. There are 8 main panels in all and all are worthy of detailed attention but I've chosen a few of them to reveal the highlights here.
As I walked in to the magnificent room I felt my eyes being drawn to the glorious ceiling, every rib and enclosed triangular space painted with vivid frescoe colours and ornamented to provide an impression of a jewelled heaven with figures looking down. The first above eye level panel painting I knew to focus on was on my immediate left and entitled THE DREAM OF THE BLESSED SORORE'S MOTHER - which tells the story of the legendary founder of the hospital's mother having a dream the night before his birth. This tells of children climbing a ladder up in to the open arms of the Virgin and Paradise. She interprets the dream as a vision or calling to service for her soon to be born son. The story is told in visual form in the frescoe and I'm charmed by the little naked infants climbing the ladder in the centre of the composition. As I concentrated on the detail of the busy scene I could see Sorore twice in the painting - firstly in the mid ground kneeling at the foot of the child-filled ladder and also on the right where, with upraised hand, he receives the hospital's first foundling orphan. From studying the outside facade I already knew the symbol of the hospital has for centuries been a ladder surmounted by a cross and I also reflected on the translation in to english of the name of the hospital - "The Blessed Mary of the Stairs". It was all beginning to make sense.
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| THE DREAM OF THE BLESSED SONORE'S MOTHER - IL VECCHIETA 1441 |
The third panel in the sequence is entitled THE BISHOP GIVING ALMS AND THE EXPANSION OF THE HOSPITAL. I saw this as another busy composition with lots goiing on. I found my eyes drawn to the figure on horseback recognizing it as a bishop giving alms for the building of the hospital and symbolic of the church's early role in providing money for its development. His horse is almost knocking over a stone mason bent over a drawing with dividers in his right hand and further to the right a pile of bricks to be used in the construction. I wondered why none of the buildings in the background resembled anything actually built, but once again the ladder on the far right seemed symbolic of the hospital's name.
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THE BISHOP GIVING ALMS FOR THE EXPANSION OF THE HOSPITAL
Domenico di Bartolo 1442-3 |
Half way down the hall I couldn't resist taking a detailed look at the panel on the right hand wall - one of the most famous of all the ones in the room - THE CARE OF THE SICK. Looking at it I could see straight away that it was all about the daily work of the hospital in the early 15th century - a medieval ER or A & E as we could call it in Britain. In the centre, right at the front, a young man with a deep gash to his left leg is being cleaned and washed before being tended to by a surgeon who approaches in his red hat and carries instruments to treat him. On the far left I noticed a man being brought in on a stretcher as a doctor examines a glass with urine in it and shows it to a student. Over on the right a portly friar is listening to a confession of a bed ridden patient before he goes for surgery. To the rear, behind a gate, I caught a glimpse of patients' meals being prepared. The whole scene I found to be fascinating, for it certainly gives a good impression of the complex treatments and care being delivered to patients by the different types of hospital staff.
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CARING FOR THE SICK
Domenico di Bartolo 1440-41 |
The final scene I wanted to give detailed attention to was on the same wall closer to the entrance hall. Entitled THE REARING AND EDUCATION OF CHILDREN AND THE MARRIAGE OF A "DAUGHTER" OF THE HOSPITAL. Again I found this to be a moving scene dealing with all aspects of the care and welfare of the foundlings from cradle to adulthood. On the left I there are wet nurses breastfeeding whilst other women play and teach children to read and write. To the right, underneath the portico, the rector marries one of the orphaned children, now a young woman, to a suitable young man - presenting her with a small dowry in a tiny bag in his right hand. The hospital clearly cared for its orphans from cradle to adulthood.
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THE REARING AND EDUCATION OF CHILDREN AND
THE MARRIAGE OF A DAUGHTER OF THE HOSPITAL
Domenic di Bartolo 1441 - 2 |
During the whole time Jon and I spent in this special place only one other family came in to the room. It was a near perfect viewing experience and extremely moving. I was also fascinated to discover that this hall was being used as a ward of the hospital right up to 1975 - a large black and white photograph showed patients in bed with the frescoes above their heads. I wonder what is was like having these scenes to contemplate every day?? Below are some photographs of the hospital in action in the 20th century.
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| THE PILGRIMS' HALL BEING USED AS A HOSPITAL WARD IN THE 20TH CENTURY |
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CARING FOR ORPHANED CHILDREN IN THE MODERN PERIOD AT
SANTA MARIA DELLA SCALA |
My final verdict on this as a place to visit - well I would have to say 10/10. I found it interesting - no fascinating, on such a variety of levels for it satisfied both my intellectual curiosity as well as providing a warm feeling of well-being. Seeing the results of charitable work and caring in action over an 800 year period is - well - such a positive thing. Walk through those halls and rooms and you can't help but imbibe the history of the place and think about the generations who've been treated in this place. I can understand the citizens of Siena having mixed emotions about moving the hospita to a new site in the city. There's also lots more to see than I've described here and if you are going to do it justice you need to reserve at least a couple of hours just for this one visit. The entrance charge is 9 euros though we received a seniors discount making it 14 euros for two people It's also possible to purchase tickets which combine with the Duomo and the Duomo's museum - but you would need a whole day for all of that!!
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FAREWELL FROM THE PILGRIMS' HALL
SANTA MARIA DELLA SCALA |
HAPPY NEW YEAR WHEN IT COMES
IAN x
PS PLEASE SHARE THIS POSTING & MY BLOG ADDRESS IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO YOU THINK MIGHT ENJOY READING IT. THANKS. IAN
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