Within the Sanctuary of S. Maria della Vita, the rooms that once belonged to the ancient Hospital (1260-1798) house the collection of devotional objects linked to the history of the Confraternity of the Battuti of S. Maria della Vita, founders of the complex and the first care facility in the city, as well as the original core of the current Ospedale Maggiore. The museum aims to retrace the history of health and care in the city of Bologna. For this purpose, scientific materials from the ancient Pharmacy of the Ospedale della Vita are collected alongside paintings, vestments, and sacred furnishings owned by the Confraternity, such as albarelli and medical instruments; also notable is an eighteenth-century scale. The museum was inaugurated in 1999 at the end of the challenging restoration work that involved the Santa Maria della Vita complex, one of the most important monuments of Bolognese Baroque. Set up like a large Baroque sacristy, it occupies the spaces that housed the ancient Hospital of the Battuti or della Vita. The exhibition spaces are mainly concentrated in two rooms: the first unfolds the picture gallery, which features two works by Gaetano Gandolfi, liturgical furnishings, and sixteenth to seventeenth-century vestments linked to the history of the Sanctuary, and the famous miniature portrait of Louis XIV, King of France, made by Jean Petitot (1607-1691). The second room contains 150 pharmacy jars (not all on display) from the old Pharmacy of the Ospedale della Vita. Adjacent to the complex is the eponymous church, an elliptical plan building designed by Bergonzoni (1692), with a copper dome designed by Antonio Bibiena, inside which is located the Lamentation of the Dead Christ by Nicolò dell’Arca (made in 1463) composed of seven terracotta statues. Also as a result of the restoration work, the Oratory of the Battuti was opened to the public, with the only access through the museum of which it is an integral part. Its origin dates back to the fifteenth century, but its current rectangular plan form is from the beginning of the seventeenth century. Among the works decorating the walls and ceiling are the altarpiece by Nosadella (1500-1571); four stucco statues of the city’s patron saints, two of which were made by Alessandro Algardi (1598-1654); paintings with episodes from the foundation and life of the hospital, including those by Cavedoni (1577-1662), Menghino del Brizio, Calvaert; The Assumption of the Virgin (1519-1522) by Alfonso Lombardi.
Information on the Museum of Health and Care
Via Clavature, 8,
40121 Bologna (Bologna)
051230260
graziano.campanini@ausl.bologna.it
Source: MIBACT
