BAMBINO GESÙ: AN AUDIOVISUAL HISTORY OF THE CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL
The Embassy of Italy to the Holy See has hosted the presentation of the project in cooperation with the CAST Research Center of the UniNettuno University.
Preserving and enhancing the video-photographic records of the Paediatric Hospital Bambino Gesù, making them available on a history section accessible to a large audience. That is the goal of the research program showcased today at Palazzo Borromeo, seat of the Italian Embassy to the Holy See, thanks to the initiative of the CAST Research Center (Catholicism and Audiovisual Studies) of the UniNettuno University, in collaboration with the Video-photographic Historical Archive of the Holy See’s Hospital and with the support of the SIAE (Italian Society of Authors and Publishers).
The project falls within the activities of the CAST Research Center, which has been analyzing the relationship between Catholicism, cinema, and audiovisuals since 2020.
The CAST’S digital library (https://cast.uninettuno.it/) intends to serve as historical portal that can gradually function as aggregator and online access gate to the digitalized historical heritage (audiovisual, photographic and documentary) regarding Catholicism and audiovisuals, which is currently scattered across various conservation institutions (public and private archives/film collections, archives belonging to institutions, associations, religious organizations, private bodies etc.). At the moment, the CAST is hosting the “Roma nel mondo” (1955-1960) newsreels by San Paolo Film and, as of today, documents of the Paediatric Hospital Bambino Gesù. The video-photographic historical archive of the Holy See’s hospital, a selection of which is to be inserted in the CAST’S digital library, features around 15.000 digitalized pictures, from the foundation of the hospital until today, enriching themselves every six months with the photographic documentation of current events. The archive also contains 300 videos, the first of which shows the visit of John XXIII to the hospital in 1958.
«The research work is able – through photos and audio-cinematographic clips – to illustrate the peculiar history of the children’s hospital from an original point of view, mostly with respect to its close relationship with pontiffs and the Holy See. It is pivotal not to disperse a memory that can shed light on the cultural heritage of our country and, in other terms, to show the evolution in the scientific and socio-cultural fields, that has made the Bambino Gesù the greatest paediatric polyclinic and research center in Europe, with a network of activities stretching across four continents» CAST’s President, Mons. Dario Edoardo Viganò has explained.
«Recalling today the history of the hospital Bambino Gesù thanks to the collaboration with the CAST research center of the UniNettuno University – the Ambassador of Italy to the Holy See Francesco Di Nitto has underlined – is important not only to take a closer look at what has become one of the most famous medical paediatric centers worldwide, but also for its connection, more broadly, with the issue of preserving memory and enhancing the historical audio-visual patrimony through digital archiving, in view of the current priorities at domestic and international level».
«Not by accident we have chosen the slogan “the future is a history of children” for the recent 150th anniversary of the foundation of the hospital. We believe that not only the present, but also the future of the Bambino Gesù is connected to its roots, to the original choice of alleviating the suffering of the little ones with proficiency and humanity. The enhancement of the video-photographic heritage, which illustrates the life and growth of the hospital until its current dimensions, will be an additional tool and incentive to remain faithful to our longstanding mission» the Bambino Gesù’s President, Mariella Enoc has stated.
In a message sent to the promoters of the initiative, the Vice-President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani has affirmed: «Your project fully meets the cultural necessity to retrieve, safeguard, and enhance the historical Catholic audiovisual heritage, and therefore it must be sustained and encouraged, so that awareness of the children’s Hospital today and many other treasures tomorrow can be raised at all levels, considering not only the great events, but also the daily life of Catholic bodies and institutions».
