At the Preceptory of Sant'Antonio di Ranverso, care was a total gesture: assistance to the body, relief to the spirit, acceptance of the soul. The traveling narrative trail "The Hospital, the Antonians, and the Sacred Fire" on Sunday, March 1st, is dedicated to the history of care in the Middle Ages and the role played by the Antonians in caring for the sick. Here, they fought against the so-called "sacred fire," transforming the hospital into a place of protection, comfort, and hope for the suffering.
Art and sacred images accompanied patients on their journey to recovery, making invisible pain visible and helping to create an environment of spiritual as well as physical support. In the Middle Ages, care meant caring for human frailty in its entirety, uniting medicine, faith, and community in a single gesture of solidarity.
