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The hospital of Santa Maria was built in 1421, grouping three previous structures: the hospital of the Trinity, the hospital of San Rocco and the hospital of San Gregorio, which stood on the stretch of the Via Cassia, known as the Roman road. It was a rest, shelter and assistance facility for pilgrims and a place of care for the sick.
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HOSPITAL (Ospedale)
THE HISTORY
The hospital of Santa Maria was built in 1421, grouping three previous structures: the hospital of the Trinity, the hospital of San Rocco and the hospital of San Gregorio, which stood on the stretch of the Via Cassia, known as the Roman road. It was a rest, shelter and assistance facility for pilgrims and a place of care for the sick. The hospital’s patronage was first of the Community of Acquapendente, then, starting from 1471 it was entrusted to the Rector and to the Convent of Santa Maria della Scala in Siena. In Acquapendente, “L’HOSPITALITAS” that is, the ancient hospital assistance, counted on several institutes. The oldest news dates back to November 26, 1235 and refers to the hospital of the Ponte del Paglia, of which no trace remains even in the local toponymy. The hospital of Santa Maria was so called because it was located in front of the church of Santa Maria, better known as S. Francesco, whose administration was entrusted to the lay order of the hospital of Santa Maria della Scala in Siena. The hospital was directed by the Sienese Rectors for almost three centuries until Bishop Fedeli, on 2 October 1692, joined the hospital to the Seminary. The two institutes, however, were made independent in 1870.
DESCRIPTION
Certainly some rooms of today’s hospital occupy the old site of that of San Giovanni, founded in 1406. Its ancient origins are revealed both by the ogival portal, of certain medieval age with the Jerusalem cross placed on its architrave, and by a fresco of Madonna with child, by an unknown artist, placed at the entrance. In 1897 major restoration works began and the façade was also redone based on a design by A. Piccioni. Nothing remains of the original structure of the building, except the fresco, still surviving of the late fifteenth-century decoration, depicting the Madonna enthroned with the blessing Child. It reflects the main trends of the Viterbo pictorial culture of the fifteenth century. The Cosmatesque throne betrays the dependence on the Sienese late Gothic world. with the Viterbo artist Balletta as the greatest exponent; the vivacity of the Child contrasts with the compositional solemnity of the Mother, denoting a popular vein and a strong link with everyday reality. The two seraphs placed on either side of the Virgin seem to be inspired by those of Pastura in the late Gothic image of the Virgin and Child attributed to Andrea di Giovanni and preserved in the Civic Museum of Viterbo. The detached fresco is characterized as a fragment of a larger cycle, now unfortunately lost.
ESSENTIAL BIBLIOGRAPHY
AA.VV. Acquapendente e il suo territorio. Regione Lazio, Assessorato alla Cultura, Spettacolo, Sport e Turismo. Direzione regionale cultura, sport e turismo, area valorizzazione del territorio e del patrimonio culturale. Avellino 2004.
Biondi P., Le origini del comune di Acquapendente e la Madonna del Fiore, Acquapendente 1966;
Costantini N., Memorie storiche di Acquapendente, Acquapendente 1982;
Lise G., Acquapendente. Storia. Arte. Figure. Tradizioni, Acquapendente 1971;
Peparello M. A., L’ospedale civile di Acquapendente nei suoi precedenti storici, Acquapendente 1981.
Le opere d’arte del’ospedale di Acquapendente sono state catalogate sui modelli inventariali nel 1993 dalla Soprintendenza BAS di Roma (Catalogratrice A. Capriotti); le schede sono state revisionate nel 2003 da P. Grassi per la Regione Lazio
Acquapendente Artecittà , Ospedale di santa mari della Scala.
