THE ITALIAN HOSPITAL - JERUSALEM

MY ISRAEL:

THE ITALIAN HOSPITAL: A taste of Italy in Jerusalem.

THE ARCHITECT:

Antonio Barluzzi (1884-1960), an Italian who acquired the title “Architect of the Holy land”, was a devout Roman Catholic & designer of numerous buildings within Israel.

THE LOCATION:

One of his many buildings was the Italian Hospital in Jerusalem, located at the corner of 9 HaNeviim St. and 29 Shivtei Israel St., bordering the neighborhoods of Musrara & the ultra-religious & fanatical Jewish neighborhood of Mea Shearim.

THE HISTORY:

During the latter part of the 19th century and start of the 20th century interest in the Holy Land by European powers re-emerged. Italy was no exception, and in 1910, "The National Association for Assistance to Italian Missionaries" (ANSMI) purchased the Arab owned land and commissioned the Italian architects, Antonio Barluzzi & his brother Giulio to build a hospital.

This & other institutions run by Christian missionary organizations offered free medical care, but had in addition a more sinister agenda, namely, to attract Jewish patients for the purposes of missionizing. This evoked a strong reaction by the rabbinic authorities of the period, ostracizing Jews who used these health services. Unlike Christianity & Islam, Judaism forbids proselytization.

With the completion of the excavations in 1911, construction of the building began. During the Libyan war (September 1911- October 1012) between Italy & Turkey, the latter of whom were the occupying power of the period, work on the building came to a halt. The end of the conflict saw the Italians return & finish most of the construction work. With the start of the First World War in 1914 the Italians sided with the Entente powers, namely Britain, France, Russia, Italy & Japan against Germany and Turkey. Consequently, the Turks took possession of the premises & used it as a hospital.

With the WW1 victory in 1917 by the Entente powers & the start of the British Mandate period, ownership of the now badly damaged hospital complex returned to the Italian government. Antonio Barluzzi oversaw construction & in 1919 the hospital reopened. During World War 2 (1939-1945) Italy sided with the axis powers, namely Germany & Japan, there upon the British confiscated the complex and used it to house the headquarters of the British Royal Air force (R.A.F.).

With the evacuation of the British at the end of the Mandate period in May 1948 & the start of the War of Independence, Jewish forces in an operation known as Kilshon captured the complex. Located on the border between east & west Jerusalem & subjected to heavy Arab bombardment, the building sustained extensive damage. The Italian government demanded that Israel pay for repairs but Israel refused, claiming that the Arabs, in this case the Jordanians, had fired upon the buildings and caused the damage. In 1963 an Agreement between Israel and Italy was achieved in which the Italians decided to sell the complex to the Israeli government.

Since 1963 the complex has housed the Ministry of Education & Culture.

THE ARCHITECTURE: (refer to the annotated elevation).

Reminiscent of both the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence and the Siena City Hall, the hospital is an example of Italian Gothic Architecture. Unlike its northern counterparts, such as French and German gothic, Italian gothic architecture incorporated earlier Romanesque architectural elements into their designs.

The plan is symmetrical with a central church capped with an octagonal dome & bordered by wings on either side. The wings housed 100 beds and connected to the church via long passageways. The church has since been deconsecrated and today has a large mezuzah attached to the doorpost. Crenelated parapet walls surround the roof and is typical of Italian gothic architecture as is the bell tower. Italian gothic was however less concerned about verticality as compared to its northern counterparts, namely French & German gothic. Common to Italian gothic are massive walls made up of rusticated stone, which in this case is Jerusalem stone. The walls, punctuated with relatively small windows differ from the larger windows of their French & German gothic counterparts. In addition to lancet arches, segmental and semi-circular arches typical of Romanesque architecture crown windows and other openings. Additional features common to Italian gothic are external uncovered staircases & loggias, which are arcades with at least one side open to the surrounding outside space. The surrounding fences & gates contain typical Italian motifs such as an eagle spreading its wings, a wolf feeding Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome & St George killing a dragon, who according to the Christian narrative did so on condition that the populace convert to Christianity and be baptized.

Ron Traub (Tour Guide & Architect).

Website: rontraub-tours.com

Photo’s: Rimonah Traub.

Sketch: Ron Traub.

Elevation drawing: Annotated by Ron Traub.