06 April 2019

Early modern medicine in Naples - Incurables Hospital c1520

Thank you to The 18th-century Apothecary in Hampshire for reminding us that they delivered most of what we would now term primary health care. Now to Naples.

Religious duty did not clash with medical science in the early C16th; in fact many of Naples’ hospitals staff had been made saints by the Catholic Ch­urch eg St Cajetan (1480-1547) who founded and worked in hospitals for incurables around Italy. In Naples St Cajetan set up the Mount of Piety to help the poor, so they did not need usurers to pay for medical costs. This later turned into one of Italy’s oldest banks, Banco di Napoli. A statue of him is outside the Basilica of San Paolo Maggiore in Naples.

Saints flourished in Southern Italy, relying on their relics’ mir­aculous healing pow­ers. So a thriving trade in relics grew up which church author­it­ies tried to control, concerned as they were about diabolical cults. Even more specifically, many diseases had their own patron saints eg St Roch for protecting against plagues.

Pharmacy interior
5 m-long walnut table, cabinets with decorated blue and white majol­ica jars
Sculpture of a post-operative uterus on the wall

Medieval medicine was largely built on theories, not on research as to which treatments actually worked. Only when Europeans learned from Islamic medicine in Baghdad and Cairo did research start to become import­ant. The earliest European pharmacies that I can find were a] in the Fran­cis­can Monastery in Dubrovnic Croatia (opened 1317) and b] in Tallinn’s town hall square in Estonia (opened 1422).

The Hospital for Incurables in Naples is an old, extant hospital in the centre of town. It is important to us because it linked elements of early medicine, magic, alchemy and religion, all dedicated to helping the poor and sick. Founded in c1520, the Hospital was set up by a noble Catalan woman called Mar­ia Lorenza Longo after she had suffered and recovered from a paral­ysing illness herself. By combining her family wealth with that of the wealthy Genoese Ettore Vernazza, Longo was able to fund a big hospital complex in Naples. Over time med­ical research­ers from around Europe travelled to Naples, to learn about treatments.

Pharmacy entrance, double stone staircase

Private charity in the city centred on this Incurab­les Hospital which also help­ed people from outside Naples. Initially their main role was to handle the spreading of venereal diseases.  Gradually the Incurables Hospital broadened its services and under Longo’s guidance, it started to specialise in helping pregnant wom­en with Caesarean sections. Princesses and noble woman came to the Incurables Hospital to give birth, whilst poor women were look­ed after by the nuns in the Order of the Capuchin Poor Clares.

Note the impress­ive double stone staircase and a bust of Maria Longo. And note the two sculptures depicting a virginal uterus, and a post-operative uterus that has undergone a Caesarean, reflecting the Incurables’ focus on helping women through childbirth.

The hospital was renovated in the C18th by architect Bartolomeo Vecchione and Domenico Antonio Vacc­aro in the baroque-rococo style. Additionally many works of art were added to the hospital build­ings, in the belief that art and beauty could be used to help treat sick people. Beauty was particularly important once the hospital started to look after hundreds of mentally ill patients, separated in dormitories according to their diagnosis.

The hospital later included the splendid Pharmacy and a laboratory in which medicines and drugs were pre­pared. Baroque and Rococo styles were utilised in a bigger complex of halls, marble stairs, majolica pavements, bronze sculptures and refined furniture of walnut wood. The ceiling was dom­­inated by a great Homer's Illiad painting by Neapolitan Pietro Bardellino, show­ing scenes from the Trojan War related to medicine. See the rock staircases, a fres­coed ceiling, el­egant inlaid wooden furniture and shelves with decor­ated majolica jars.

One section of the pharmacy was where the medicinal invent­ories were stored and cures were prepared. There was a monumental 5 m-long walnut table in the room and the surr­ounding walnut cabinets held many blue and white majol­ica jars dec­or­­ated with biblical and allegorical scenes, and filled with ointments.

The cabinets also contained products of mineral origin and teeth of marine animals, linking back to old alchemical traditions. It was only through the use of chemical drugs that progress was made in the history of Medicine. The very creation of the pharmacy made the hospital into a place of treatment, rather than just a hos­pice, particularly with common diseases like ven­er­eal infections.

See the Medicinal Gardens where homeopathic mixtures were devel­op­ed to soothe pat­ients. The medicinal gardens, since modernised, have a huge camphor tree and other medicinal plants that went into the medications.

The tour then leads through to the Great Hall, which was used as a reception and assembly room for medical experts and auth­orities. Its walls are lined with yellow and blue majolica vases and jars, painted by Lorenzo Salandra, and Donato Massa who painted the majolica floor.

Nearby is the cloister of the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, run by an order of hermits. The ceilings of this “Cloister of Maternity” were painted by Flem­ish artists. Parthenope, Naples' mythical siren founder, was ? buried in the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie. Parthen­ope’s possible burial place had strong signif­icance for a Neapol­it­an literary humanist group which founded The Academy of the Idle in these beautiful cloisters in 1611. 

Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie
Cloister of Maternity

Inside the Museum of Sanitary Arts there are many interesting old medical tools, old irons, prints and books that together memorial­ise the Neapolitan medical school and health history. Visitors will be interested in the histories of Italian research into diseases and treatments, and the init­ial Italian discoveries en route to anti­biotics. There is also information on the life of the Domenico Cirillo (1739-1799), an Enlightenment physician-botanist at the Incurables.

This pharmacy was one of few remaining examples of the hundreds of similar apothecaries that once spread out across Naples. Visit the pharmacy, along with the museum of sanitary arts, the medicinal garden and cloister of the nearby Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie a Caponapoli.





23 comments:

Anonymous said...

My experience of seeing old medical tools is that they are quite terrifying. It all sounds quite interesting.

LMK said...

The Medicinal Gardens and drug pharmacy showed medical care was based on science and research, not on superstition. I hope they kept good notes on what worked and what didn't.

Hels said...

Andrew

I had the same feeling while watching the history of radiology in film. People like Marie Curie died the most hideous deaths through their dedication to medicine and unsophisticated equipment. But it was fascinating.

Hels said...

LMK

Medieval medicine in Europe was full of superstition, yes. Because disease was "caused" by the devil, the cures were venerating particular saints, the use of magical herbs and prayers. Islamic doctors, on the other hand, had the 5 volume Law of Medicine textbook; its scientific principles were very specific. Just as well the Naples facilities learned from Islamic medicine.

Parnassus said...

Hello Hels, I would love to visit this beautiful hospital. There are a number of historical hospitals and medical museums, but sometimes you have to seek them out because they are hidden. Universities with medical schools are good prospects. Also, the old Victorian Athens Insane Asylum (in Athens, Ohio) was bought and restored by Ohio University, a great place to spend some time exploring:

https://www.google.com/search?q=athens+asylum&newwindow=1&client=firefox-b&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwivrYaomrzhAhXGu7wKHSXvCuoQ_AUIDigB&biw=1366&bih=656

(or just search for Athens Asylum photos)

--Jim

Hels said...

Parnassus

Joe finds the subjects and collects the relevant journal articles; I simply write the blog posts :) But that has one great advantage. He is fascinated with the history of medicine and knows far more about the subject than I do. He loves the history of hospitals, drugs, medical equipment, university education, epidemics etc etc.

So I have expanded the breadth of my history base over the years. A lot! But the Athens Asylum still looks grim inside.

CherryPie said...

You have introduced me to some fascinating history.

The hospital looks like an interesting place to visit :-)

avi said...

thanks for this article for moreclick here

Hels said...

CherryPie and avi

Thanks! My blog partner's task is to find fascinating topics and to collect journal articles that discuss those topics. And since he did his Medicine in Australia, Israel and Britain, Joe has a passion for the history of medicine, and for travel. Thus we get great topics like
early modern medicine in Naples :)

FMWA Apk said...

Incredible posting this is from you. I am really and truly thrilled to read this marvelous post. You’ve really impressed me today. I hope you’ll continue to do so!

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Nita Perkins said...


This is a topic which is near to my heart... Cheers! Where are your contact details though?
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Hels said...

Nita

Thank you... I love the topic as well.

To leave a public comment on the post itself, just write in Leave Your Comment, as you did.

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gbapps said...

it is looking like a house of Ernestine Campbell in usa.

Hels said...

gbapps

Do you mean the Spanish Revival-style home in Los Angeles? I think Spanish Revival architecture was wonderful for large homes and smaller public buildings like hospitals, across the world.

Hels said...

Pikashow Apk

thank you for reading the post, but no advertising please.

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Hels said...

Pikashow Apk and WhatsApp

thank you for reading the post, but no advertising please.

gbwhatsappp said...
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Hels said...

gbwhatsappp

did you have a family member in a similar sort of hospital?

Pinoy Tambyan said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Hels said...

Pinoy

thanks for reading the post. What is your interest in the Incurables Hospital in Naples?

Hels said...

FMWA

I am very pleased you enjoyed this history. Did you get a chance to find some useful follow up reading?