Portico of Santa Maria Nuova Hospital

Portico of Santa Maria Nuova Hospital. . Porticus, quam Bernardus Bontalenti eo animo descripsit, ut valetudinarii Sanctae Mariae Novae dicati ad aegrotantes accipiendos vestibulum esset aedificiique frontem exornaret, gradatim ac longis temporis intervallis pulcherrimum hunc conspectum est adsecuta. Ab anno MDCXII usque ad annum MDCCX cura et vigilantia nosocomii praesidum adversa valetudinarii facies, nuda prius ac simplex vel inconcinnis structuris deformata, arcubus decorari coepta est. Sex arcus in anticae porticus parte dextera Barnaba Degli Oddi (1612-1616) quinque deinde Ludovicus Incontri in parte sinistra (1661-1663) aedificandos curaverunt. Tres alios arcus non multo post (1707-1710) Michael Mariani atque Antonius Cappelli dextero aedium lateri adstruxerunt. Post illos per ducentos quinquaginta annos opus absolvendae porticus vel neglegentia quadam vel nummorum paucitate intermissum ac paene relictum est. Nostris vero temporibus, auctore Alberto Bompani, ob insignem alacritatem nosocomio praeposito, Marius Gobbo, civis florentinus, vir singulari sollertia, prudentia, humanitate urbisque suae amantissimus, cum mensae argentariae, quae "Cassa di Risparmio" vocatur, praeesset, id munus suscepit ut, sinistro lateri totidem arcubus quot in dextero additis, porticus aedificatio ad finem perduceretur. , Quod opus a.D. MDCCCCLX feliciter perfectum est , , [English translation of the Latin text:] , The portico, which Bernard Bontalenti described with the intention of being a vestibule for the hospital of Santa Maria Nova, dedicated to receiving the sick and adorning the front of the building, acquired this most beautiful appearance gradually and over long periods of time. From 1612 to 1719, through the care and vigilance of hospital governors, the opposite face of the hospital, previously bare and simple or deformed by awkward structures, began to be decorated with arches. Six arches were built on the right side of the front portico by Barnabas of Oddis (1612-1616), and then five by Ludovico Incontri on the left side (1661-1663). Three other arches were built not long after (1707-1710) by Michael Mariani and Antonio Cappelli on the right side of the building. After that, for two hundred and fifty years, the work of completing the portico was interrupted and almost abandoned, either through a certain negligence or a lack of funds. In our own times, however, by the initiative of Alberto Bompani, who was appointed superintendent of the hospital for his remarkable diligence, Marius Gobbo, a Florentine citizen, a man of singular skill, prudence, humanity, and great love for his city, while presiding over the banking table, called the "Cassa di Risparmio," undertook the task of completing the construction of the portico by adding as many arches to the left side as to the right. , This work was successfully completed in 1960. ,