‘Indispensable Nurses:’ Portraits of of Health Care Workers during the COVID-19 Emergency

As Florence continues along a positive track by following post-lockdown Phase 3 guidelines, a refreshing sign of normalcy is the return of exhibitions, one by a famous photojournalist, Massimo Sestini —that signals a revival of the cultural scene.  “Indispensable Nurses,” is presently being hosted by the Santa Maria Nuova Hospital, with a multimedia section in the Sala d’Arme of Palazzo Vecchio is open to the public until July 5, from Monday to Sunday (excluding Thursday), from 3 – 8 pm).

“Indispensable Nurses,” the tragic but inspiring new exhibition of Santa Maria Nuova Hospital nurses during the COVID-19 emergency by Massimo Sestini, complements artworks representing different eras throughout Italian history. Winner of the World Press Photo in 2015, Sestini, a contemporary photojournalist, documented the unprecedented experiences of nurses at the hospital working in the COVID wards over five days and five nights.

Full of artworks dating back to the 1300s through the Renaissance, the Santa Maria Nuova Hospital is both the venue and the subject of Massimo Sestini’s exhibition.  His photographs of nurses on duty during the Coronavirus crisis are being displayed in the hospital adding to its deep history of restored artworks present.

The medical facilities have been renovated with outstanding artworks that have been restored and displayed over time; top specialists in the field have created a “museo diffuso” which is an open museum itinerary available to visit according to an excerpt from “The Art of Healing” by Elizabeth Wicks. As Florence’s–and the world’s– longest continuously running hospital, Santa Maria Nuova was founded at the end of the thirteenth century.  In 1288, Monna Tessa, the governess of Beatrice Portinari, the great love of Dante’s life, convinced Beatrice’s rich banker father, Folco, to finance a hospital for the city’s poor. The original building of Santa Maria Nuova was for male patients only; female patients were treated and housed across the street in the convent of the Oblate nuns.  Monna Tessa’s hospital accommodated up to 200 patients, and the benefactress is buried on the grounds of the hospital.

The 34 large prints by Sestini have been added to the renovated hospital.  “Indispensable Nurses” was inaugurated on June 23, 2020 and has free admission to all. Inside the health facility, the prints reside in the corridor overlooking the cloister and can only be visited by professionals, patients and users of the hospital; this exhibit will be set up until December 5. The images are visible to the public in a multimedia edition until July 5 in the Sala d’Arme of Palazzo Vecchio.

Presented in three sections, the photos portray the tragedy of the pandemic through the eyes of the nurses working in the oldest hospital in the world. With a rhythm between the news and a desire to restore the intimate and emergency dimension of the hospital, the images touch upon those who help — not those who suffer.

The first section features 17 photos revealing daily gestures of care and assistance. This area also includes the illustration used in the poster for the exhibition which features a nurse in a protective suit and visor, holding hands with a patient smiling. The second section features photos taken in a studio of nurses with their faces covered by a mask. The third section comprises 15 individual portraits of nurses without masks on their faces. There are no names and no captions on the pictures, allowing the images to really speak for themselves.

“Patients call them angels but being with them I realized that nurses are heroes, like doctors,” says Sestini. “They take risks and are always on the front lines, in surgical rooms and in the ward to prepare a bed. They are extremely prepared, dedicated and in love with their profession. For me it was a great honor to recount them on the job, against the background of a global drama like that of the Coronavirus.”

With intense and touching aspects, the photos tell the story of life and death, physical and emotional fatigue, dedication and professionalism coexisting throughout these long months of the COVID-19 pandemic.  (lauren polanski)