Fatebenefratelli Hospital
St. John of the Cross
Brothers of Mercy
Tiber Island
Rome Italy
2016

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatebenefratelli_Hospital

Fatebenefratelli Hospital (officially Ospedale San Giovanni Calibita Fatebenefratelli) is a hospital located on the western side of the Tiber Island in Rome. It was established in 1585 and is currently run by the Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God. The hospital is known for having sheltered Jews during the Holocaust by diagnosing them with a fictitious disease called "Syndrome K".

The Isola Tiberina (Tiber Island) has long been associated with medicine and healing.

The island was once the site of the ancient Temple of Aesculapius (early 3rd century BCE) and since the late 16th century it has been home to the Fatebenefratelli Hospital (officially the Ospedale San Giovanni Calibita Fatebenefratelli).

The Temple of Aesculapius was dedicated in 293 BCE. Following a particularly bad outbreak of the plague, the Senate sent a delegation to Epidauros, reputed to be the birthplace of Asclepius, the Greek god of healing, and home to the most famous temple of the god.

In honour of Asclepius, a particular type of non-venomous snake was often used in healing rituals, and the snakes crawled around freely on the floors of dormitories in which the sick and injured slept. Such snakes were introduced at the founding of each new temple of Asclepius.

Upon the delegation's return to Rome, a snake is said to have slithered off the ship and swam onto the Isola Tiberina. Believing this to be a propitious sign, a temple to Aesculapius was duly built on the island.

In time the Isola Tiberina became so identified with the Temple of Aesculapius that it was actually modelled to resemble a ship as a reminder of its origins. Faint vestiges of the god, holding a rod entwined with a snake, are still visible on the 'prow'.

The island is still considered a place of healing, on account of the presence of the Fatebenefratelli Hospital, which was established in 1585. The hospital, which is run by the Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God, was not built on the site of the temple, but stands on the western half of the island.

The church of San Bartolomeo all' Isola now stands on the site of the Temple of Aesculpaius.

https://waidy.it/en/voice-from-city/tiber-island.html

Located in the middle of the Tiber River, Rome's Tiber island is the smallest inhabited island in the world. Despite its small size - measuring just 300m long and 90m wide – the island has had a history almost as long as the capital city itself, signs of which are still visible today

Legend has it that the origins of the Tiber Island date back to the sixth century BC, when the seventh king of Rome, Tarquinius the Superb, was expelled from the city. To celebrate the end of tyranny, the Romans seized the fallen king's grain reserves and threw them into the Tiber. Over time, this mass of sheaves accumulated mud and other debris, becoming an island.

It seems that the island's link with medicine and healing date back to 293 BC, when a terrible epidemic struck the city. To eradicate this scourge, the Oracles advised that a ship be sent to Epidaurus, site of the most important temple to Aesculapius, to retrieve a statue of the deity and bring it back to Rome. Upon arrival at Epidaurus, the Roman delegates encountered a huge snake - symbolising Aesculapius - which boarded their ship. They thus decided to take it back to Rome. As they sailed up the Tiber, the divine serpent slithered off the ship and settled on the Tiber Island, resulting in the construction of a temple for him. The epidemic disappeared from the city soon after.

The Tiber Island's hospital gets its name from the Christian congregation that ran it, following its foundation in the sixteenth century. Members of the order were known as the "Fatebenefratelli" (the do-good brotherhood) that takes its name after what its founder, a Portuguese Friar, used to tell passers-byes, inviting them to do charity work for the sick: “Fate bene, fratelli!” (Do good, brothers!).

The Tiber Island is connected to the city by two bridges: the Ponte Cestio on one side and the Ponte Fabricio also known as the 'Bridge of the Four Heads', which connects the island directly to the Jewish Ghetto. Some think its peculiar nickname recalls the sculptures of Janus Fourfold that adorn it, but the Romans know a much bloodier story. In fact, legend has it that, in the sixteenth century, the restoration of the bridge was entrusted to four Roman architects who were all excellent at their profession, but very poorly versed in the art of collaboration. Upon learning of a violent quarrel between the four, Pope Sixtus V ordered to cut off their heads and display them on that very same bridge.