On Friday 10 May, with meeting and departure at 4.00 pm from the main entrance of the Morgagni-Pierantoni Hospital, via Carlo Forlanini 34, in Forlì, there will be a guided tour of the large park that surrounds the entire hospital and of the chapel located on the ground floor of the Allende Pavilion, adorned by the Forlì painter Giovanni Marchini (1877 – 1946) with devotional scenes. Speakers will include: Giorgio Martellidirector of the Hospital Unit, Sonia Muzzarellicurator of assets of historical, artistic and archival interest of the Romagna Local Health Authority, Andrea Gozzoliresponsible for activities on restricted healthcare real estate in Forlì and Cesena, Ivan Versarigreenery expert of the Romagna Local Health Authority, Gabriele Zelliexpert in local history and co-editor of the book “Forlì città verde”.
The park of today’s “Morgagni – Pierantoni” hospital was built at the end of the 1930s to provide the setting for the new sanatorium for tuberculosis patients and to give the facility’s patients, who had very long hospital stays, the opportunity to spend a good part of the day outdoors in a pleasant environment full of vegetation. A large part of the original tree set is still present in the green area, which extends for approximately 14 hectares around the hospital pavilions and includes over 700 tree specimens, mostly cedars (over 200 specimens) and other evergreens, with plants of notable grandeur and dimensions.
A long avenue of holm oaks starts from the main entrance of the hospital complex and runs along almost the entire south-eastern border. From the avenue, a series of paths branch off towards the west that lead to the main pavilions and other service buildings (and go around them to reach secondary accesses at the back), creating a plot of more or less extensive flowerbeds all set up as tree-lined lawns, with a more limited presence of linear hedges and patches of ornamental shrubs. The construction of the historic buildings of the current hospital, once used as a sanatorium for the treatment of tuberculosis, began in 1931 and ended in 1939.
The guided tour will not be held in case of rain, participation is free. No need to book. For information: 349 3737026. The initiative will take place on the occasion of “Zardin”, the festival scheduled for 18 and 19 May 2024 which will allow you to enter the hidden gardens and courtyards of the historic center of Forlì, with the aim of making (re)discover little-known places and stories of the city. Zardin will also bring within these spaces art, music, meetings, workshops and much more. Two days of greenery and surprises, in which to see the city from a different perspective.
