Museo Ospitale Santa Francesca Romana

Santa Francesca Romana complex, a 19th-century hospital built by Busiri Vici.

One of the oldest hospitals in Rome, it was founded in 1300 by the Ponziani family and, above all, by Saint Francesca Romana, who had married one of them.

The Roman noblewoman lived in Via dei Genovesi, just a few metres from the church, which she transformed into a 'Hospitale' for pilgrims, the poor and the sick. The structure, just a few metres from the port, a place of traffic of goods and people, became a place of welcome and care. This vocation was strengthened during the dark years for Rome, when her father moved to Avignon and the city was hit by a serious economic and social crisis.