Caring for the Spirit. Health and hospitality in papal Rome through the eyes of Massimo Listri

Promoted by the Rome State Archives and the Special Superintendence for Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape of Rome, the exhibition held inside the Alessandrina Library of the Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza complex tells us about the most famous historic Roman hospitals – some of which have undergone extensive restoration work on the occasion of the 2025 Jubilee – focusing on the assistance and hospitality offered since the Middle Ages to pilgrims from all over the world who flocked to the city of the popes.

The exhibition offers a glimpse into the hospital complexes of Santo Spirito in Sassia, San Giacomo in Augusta (known as the Hospital of the Incurables), Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini and Santissimo Salvatore ad Sancta Sanctorum in Laterano through the photographs of Massimo Listri, who once again turns his lens towards the Eternal City to capture its architectural beauty. The images are accompanied by precious documents selected from the holdings of the Rome State Archives: illuminated manuscripts, drawings, chronicles, statutes and prayer books that provide insight into some aspects related to the spiritual preparation and organizational and welfare management of jubilee years throughout history.

In this narrative of images and writing, photographs, architectural heritage, documentary evidence, and illuminated manuscripts come together, creating a dialogue of perspectives, expressions, and gazes.

The exhibition is open to the public free of charge from Tuesday to Friday, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.