Museo Storico Nazionale dell'Arte Sanitaria


The Museo Storico Nazionale dell'Arte Sanitaria is located within the Ospedale di Santo Spirito in Sassia at 3, Lungotevere in Sassia in Rome.

History

The museum originates from a former anatomical museum, increased with the collections of Giovanni Carbonelli and Pietro Capparoni. The collections of the early museum, having educational purposes, are still in place.
The idea for the creation of the current museum came from the International Exhibition of Retrospective Art, held in Rome in 1911. The Institute for the Historic Museum of Healthcare Art was founded in 1920 and in 1934 turned into the Academy of History of Healthcare Art, having the foundation of the Museum among its goals. In 1929 the Institute of Santo Spirito granted a wing of the hospital, located in the former Corsia Alessandrina.
The museum included historical collections, which were joined to the former collection from the 1911 Exhibition; in 1931 the collection of Giovanni Carbonelli was added, in 1939 the one of the General A. Cavalli Mulinelli and later the ones of Giuseppe and Orlando Solinas.

Description

The museum is located in a wing of the Ospedale di Santo Spirito in Sassia. It includes a well-provided library, with books dating from the 16th to the 20th centuries. The volumes include books printed in the 16th century by Aldo Manuzio and his son, as well as recipe books, manuscripts dating back to the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century, anthologies, diplomas, rules, etchings and anatomical tables. The library also houses four 18th-century oil paintings portraying doctors, among which Giuseppe Flajani and his son Gaetano. A walnut shelf, coming from a monastic chapter archive, is placed along the walls.
The museum is divided into the following rooms: