Art in Italian Hospitals: Part 1

Art in Villa Cherubini, a private hospital in Florence, Italy.

Elaine Poggi has kindly agreed to do some investigative reporting on the art scene in Italian Hospitals. This will be her first report.

From my experience, I find that the private clinics in Florence have much more art displayed than the public hospitals.  Most of them are villas that have been converted into healthcare facilities and they all have a hotel-like atmosphere.  Much of the art is abstract and some of it is religious.   There doesn't seem to be any plan or theme to the placement of art.

I've spent considerable time in Villa Cherubini - surgery on my broken ankle, 5 months later surgery on my husband's broken ankle, plus my in-laws both passed away there.   The Villa dates back to the 1850s and in 1928 was converted into a Catholic healthcare facility.  Since 1991 it has been a private clinic run by friends of mine.  I have always been fascinated by the Arlecchino figure that greets visitors in the entrance.  It is curious, colorful and catches your attention.  Behind the sculpture is a very abstract painting and just up the stairway is another art work showing the Madonna and Child.  There you have it all as you enter this facility - humor, abstraction, and religion - all in the form of art.  

Elaine Poggi was born in America but has lived in Italy for decades. She founded and heads the The Foundation for Photo/Art in Hospitals a non-profit publicly supported organization dedicated to placing comforting nature art in hospital world-wide. She is also a fine photographer and frequent contributor to this blog.