Ospitale di Santa Francesca Romana

Very interesting place in the Trastevere district

History and charity! It's one of my favorite secret spots!

I'm adding the site back to Maps, with its FIRST review, because the complex is one thing, but the church of Santa Maria in Cappella, the museum, the hospice (still active), and the hospital section (the old Ospitale) are distinct. It's now part of the tourist circuit—along with the secret apartments—made available by the Pamphili family. What we see today is largely the 19th-century hospital, built by Busiri Vici in 1857 at the behest of Prince Andrew Philip V. Its tradition, however, goes back a long way, and it's one of Rome's oldest hospitals, founded in 1300 by the Ponziani family—butchers but very wealthy—and especially by Francesca Romana, who married one of them and who, thanks to her kindness, would become the Romans' most beloved saint. Saint Francesca Romana lived on Via dei Genovesi, not far from here and just a few meters from the church of Santa Maria (later known as the Cappella), which she herself transformed into a "Hospital" for pilgrims, the poor, and the sick, as it was located just steps from the port of Ripa Grande, which no longer exists but was once a hub of traffic for goods and people. The healing vocation was later revived and expanded by Donna Olimpia Maidalchini—the powerful Pimpa—who purchased all the surrounding land and buildings, creating a beautiful residence and expanding the hospital's operations (she was a devotee of the saint), especially after Rome was hit by a severe economic and social crisis, with poverty and famine, partly due to the Pope's abandonment of the city, who fled to France. Today, this function has been transformed from a hospital—evidence of which can also be found in the left aisle of the small church, where a small dormitory has been rebuilt—to a nursing home. Need some useful information? Then leave a like and check out other reviews about Rome and beyond.