Santa Maria Della Scala museum complex

Santa Maria Della Scala

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The Santa Maria Della Scala museum complex is partially in restoration, but it is still an extraordinary cultural and site. It was originally a Hospital and has nearly a thousand years of history of hospitality and healthcare. The complex is most well known for the hospital museum. including the Old Sacristy, the Capella della Madonna, and the Church of the Santissima Annunziata. Other exhibits currently open include an underground archaeological Museum, an Art museum for Children, and a Center for Contemporary Art. Despite being across from the more well known and popular Duomo of Siena (pictured below), the museum holds its own and gives insight into the practice of medical care from as early as 898, when the Hospital was founded. People come from all over to see this museum specifically, for the experience is touching. 

The Duomo of Siena, across from the Santa Maria Della Scala

Most notable perhaps, are the magnificent frescoes that line the ceilings and tell the story of the Hospital and how it functioned. Just as in the 'La Specola' Museum in Florence, this place, once a fully functioning hospital, reminded me of the intricate relationship between art and science, and specifically art and medicine. The wax figure collection in La Specola contained medical objects artistically represented. Here, it was the practice of medicine itself that was glorified through art. In particular, I was struck by the prominence of the role of the wet nurses in taking care of abandoned children. In this picture below, the caption explanatory text below it said it described the life of an abandoned child in the hospital from the "strong arms of the wet nurse" to gaining education. Wet nurses were central to many of these paintings. It makes me reconsider and newly curious about the role women played in medical care-giving, way back to antiquity. 

 In many ways, even just walking through the hallways of the building was inspiring. Positioned directly across from one of the most amazing Cathedrals in Italy, the hospital balanced the extravagant wealth of the church with a modest dedication to philanthropic acts. The hospital was devoted to taking care of the poor, the abandoned, and of pilgrims. Though the level of care may not have been the same as it is today, the aesthetic would have been much more pleasing than any modern day hospital I have been in. Frescoes line the walls and ceilings, and light flows in through every direction.