Charity3: L'Ospedale di Careggi

L’Ospedale di Careggi:

            Before venturing to L’Ospedale di Careggi, I looked up some background information about the hospital, its functioning, and its purpose.  I found out that this hospital was by far the largest in Florence, and one of the largest still-functioning hospitals in all of Italy!  I also learned that it was founded about six centuries after L’Ospedale Santa Maria Nuova opened its doors to the public.  L’Ospedale di Careggi was a much more modern, experimental hospital that would even serve as a practice place for medical students who were still in the process of studying to become doctors. 

            This was my last visit out of the four places on our “Charity” list, and I found it quite different from the previous three had been.  In comparison to the others, this hospital struck me as a modern medical facility- much like what I am used to in the United States.  The others up until this point were not only closer in geographical proximity to the city center of Florence, but they also doubled as museums, or at least as architectural masterpieces reminiscent of the Renaissance era. Conversely, the only significant parts of history that this hospital had seen were some of the war prisoners in World War I and World War II, but not much before that, as it is so modern.  L’Ospedale di Careggi took care of many of the soldiers from Albania during the Second World War, both physically and mentally.  Without doubt, this hospital had the advantage of seeing the rise of centers that had a novice focus – medical advancements as they pertained to mental health.  With the field of psychology becoming more popular and recognized, there was a growing concern for not only physical health in patients, but in mental health as well. 

            I also felt much different when I was exploring this hospital, because I felt that this facility was explicitly functioning as a hospital, and not a museum or a Renaissance spectacle, as the others were.  So, for this reason, I kept a bit of a distance, as to not be confused as a potential patient!  However, as different as these hospitals are from each other, there are striking similarities.  For instance, both L’Ospedale di Careggi and L’Ospedale Santa Maria Nuova had an area of worship for people to practice their religious beliefs and pray for their loved ones and friends who were patients in the facilities.  Likewise, both L’Ospedale di Careggi and the Hospital Degl’Innocenti had a center specifically dedicated to the care of children.  So, despite the differences, it was interesting to observe the parallels in facilities that opened their doors centuries apart from each other.