The building of the Annunziata Hospital, located near the Sannitica road in the municipality of Valle di Maddaloni (via Sannitica Commerciale) close to the railway line, dates back to 1509.1 Later, starting from 1605, the Church of the Annunziata was built next to the hospital.2 Together, they formed the complex of the Annunziata of Valle di Maddaloni, whose aim was to host the homeless, to assist and care the sick, to raise orphaned children and to help the poor, who were also offered education and a place of rest.3 The hospital building was often modified to adapt the rooms to the various hospital functions; in 1860 it was used as a recovery for the Garibaldini wounded in the famous Battle of Volturno and with the statute of 12 July 1870 it was renewed and improved becoming the flagship of the entire city.4 In 1940 general medicine and surgery and gynecology wards were added. Nevertheless ten years later the hospital was closed and the plexus was used as a kindergarten. In 1980 the structure was entrusted to the ASL of Caserta, which reopened the hospital adding geriatrics, radiology, physiokinesitherapy, psychiatry wards and an analysis laboratory. In 1998, however, one of the patients committed suicide by jumping to the railway tracks adjacent to the structure and for this reason it was finally closed by the ASL. Today the hospital is completely abandoned, waiting to be taken over, restructured and reused.
The facade of the Church between the two wings of the hospital of a 1930 postcard
The building today
The right wing and the left wing of the hospital…
…separated by a corridor which overlooks on the church
A ward of the hospital
The attacks of oxygen tanks
A typical room of the hospital which overlooks on the railway tracks
A postcard of Valle di Maddaloni station of 1934
Part of the 1868 railway project showing the proximity to the hospital5
The general regulations of the hospital in 19336
Hospital staff7
The technical and administrative management was entrusted to the surgeon, who provided free and continuous service every day; in the absence of the latter the management of the hospital was entrusted to the temporary replacement doctor appointed by the Municipality. Four other surgeons were appointed who had to be either university professors or qualified for the profession for at least five years. The staff also counted a nurse, available 24 hours a day who lived in the same complex of the hospital, a cook and a chaplain who gave religious assistance to the dying people.
Conditions for admission to the hospital8
The first people entitled to be admitted to the hospital were the infirm and people suffering from acute illnesses and violent injuries, while two places were reserved for the chronic patients. Those who wanted to be admitted free had to present a certificate of poverty issued by the Mayor and a medical certificate that testified their illness. The daily fee for the non-poor was 800 liras and each admission and discharge was verbalized by the Secretary of the plexus.
The kit of the sick9
- 1 vegetable mattress
- 1 woolen mattress
- 2 pillows
- 6 sheets
- 1 blanket for the summer
- 1 blanket for the winter
- 1 dining table
- 1 night pot
- 1 pair of slippers
- 3 glasses
- 1 bottle
- 1 soup plate
- 1 pair of cutlery
- 4 dishes
- 1 spittoon
- 2 wipes
- 2 pairs of socks
- 4 shirts
- 2 towels
Equipment of each room10
- 2 enemas
- 1 bathroom
- 24 dishes
- 6 soup plates
- 1 bowl for foot bath
- 2 coffee makers
- 4 cups
- 2 syringes for men
- 2 syringes for women
- 6 chairs
- 1 lamp
- 6 electric bells
The health service11
The surgeon, who was also the hospital Director, visited the sick twice a day and whenever it was necessary and he could also perform autopsies.
Internal service12
The beds had to be placed at a distance of one metre each other. On the headboard of each bed there had to be a progressive number and a card containing the indications of the personal data, the illness and admission date of the patient. In case of the death of a patient due to infectious disease, mattress and sheets were burned for hygienic reasons and replaced.
Visits to the sick13
Patient visits could be carried out on Thursdays and Sundays at times set by the Director. On other days no one, under no circumstances, could have access to the hospital without the permission of the Director.
Daily diet14
The diet was established by the doctor based on the patients' illnesses who also gave instructions to cook and distribute the meals. High quality food was recommended and above all no food was allowed to be brought by visitors.
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Archival sources
- Archivio SS. Annunziata di Valle di Maddaloni, F.3, Ospedale A.G.P. (1833-1958)
Bibliography
- AA.VV., Valle alla ricerca delle nostre radici alle soglie del Terzo Millennio!, Diego Bagnoli Editore, Sant'Agata dei Goti 1999, p.17
- Domenico Morelli, Statistica delle Opere Pie della Provincia di Terra di Lavoro, Tip. del comm. G. Nobile e C., Caserta 1876, p.5