The key facts
- The Gemelli hospital on Tiber Island has integrated art into cancer care since 2013.
- Patients choose music and images before radiotherapy sessions; the ceiling and walls feature screens showing views of Rome.
- The project's doctor hopes to scale up the 'social prescription' following the British model.
Culture as part of treatment
A small hospital on Tiber Island in Rome, located between the Jewish ghetto and the Trastevere district, hopes that cultural therapy will strengthen the 'desire to live' in cancer patients, AFP reports. The medical facility's grounds feature artworks, museum tours and even the ruins of an ancient temple. Vincenzo Valentini, the 73-year-old head of the oncology center and project coordinator, called a cancer diagnosis 'a true existential earthquake' and stressed that art is 'not about sweetening the care, but deeply therapeutic,' because 'art expresses life.'
How the project works
The art-immersion project was launched in 2013. In the radiotherapy department, a genuine 3rd-century BC sanctuary dedicated to Iuppiter Iurarius — Jupiter, the guarantor of oaths — is visible through panoramic windows. The department serves about 70 patients daily; books on culture and works by a contemporary Neapolitan artist stand near the waiting areas. Before a session, the patient uses an interactive display to choose the music and images that will accompany the procedure (usually about 10 minutes). Lying on the linear accelerator, the patient can see views of the Baths of Caracalla or the Colosseum on eight high-resolution screens. Francesco Miccichè, 51, head of the radiation oncology department, explained: by offering patients a choice of images, doctors 'are trying to activate their resilience mechanisms.'
Tours and patient feedback
Patients and their loved ones are also offered tours of Rome's landmark monuments, such as the Colosseum and Palazzo Colonna. Patient Maddalena Palmieri, 42, spoke positively about the tour: 'Days like this are truly good for the soul. They allow you to take your mind off things, feel good and spend time on yourself.' According to her, the illness 'made us realize that time is truly limited, and therefore we need to make it precious.'
Context and prospects
Andrea Viani, 55, who has been undergoing radiation therapy for a lung tumor since May 2024, noted that the 'element of beauty' helped him relax, and 'a relaxed body heals itself.' He called the hospital 'small, human-scale,' where, according to him, 'half of Rome's children are born'; the facility is better known for its maternity ward. The Tiberina Island Gemelli hospital is part of the large Gemelli polyclinic near the Vatican, where last week Pope Leo XIV underwent surgery for a cancerous lung tumor. Valentini hopes that in the long term, Italy will be able to 'prescribe art as a healing tool' on a large scale — following the model of the British 'social prescription,' which connects patients with non-medical services. He also believes that a positive patient who can see the good even in the cancer journey 'has a better chance of recovery than others.'
