(1889 – 1914)

Hospital for the poor established in 1889 after kindly entrepreneur Carlo Ondoli bequeathed his house for the purpose, and directed by the doctor Luigi Pigorini. In 1914 the hospital was transferred to its current location in Via Bordini and the original building passed into private owners.

Angera has a long-standing tradition of assistance to poor, ill people. Already in the 15th century there existed Saint Catherine's Hospital for the treatment of poor, sick women, which later became a convent (Site 4 of the Open-Air Museum)

Carlo Ondoli (1824-1879) transformed his father Giuseppe's small fish-selling business into a flourishing  commercial concern. He decided to leave his house and other property to the local community, in order that a hospital for Angera's poor might be established

Angera Council accepted the legacy and set up the “Ondoli Pious Foundation”, whose administration was managed by the mayor and other council officers and the Congregazione di Carità.

Work to modify Ondoli's home began in 1887 and the little hospital was inaugurated on 14th august 1889. The direction was entrusted to the Angera doctor Luigi Pigorini, grandson of the famous archaeologist of the same name (who participated in archaeological excavations in Angera and after whom the Ethnographic Museum in Rome is named). The staff consisted of a nurse and porter, Serafino Mobiglia, and his wife Amalia Ponti, nurse and cook.

The structure initially had a capacity of six beds; it was well organized, with a kitchen, men's and women's wards, a bathroom, one room for the doctor and one for the nurses, an isolation room and a mortuary chamber. Assistance and support were also given to unmarried mothers. In 1890 the Congregazione di Carità took over the hospital's administration and at the beginning of 1900 the number of beds was increased to eight.

As time passed requests for treatment increased and the Company of the Sisters of Charity of San Vincenzo sent to Angera two nuns qualified as nurses. The space available also became insufficient and it was decided to build a new hospital. In 1909 Giulia Bordini donated a piece of land in Caspoggio locality for the construction of a new hospital, which was put out to tender in 1911 and won by Ettore Musso of Genoa.

On 1st November 1914 the new hospital was opened and the patients were transferred to the new building in Via Bordini, where a plaque commemorates the generous citizens who contributed to its establishment

The property in Via Ondoli was sold, and later acquired by the present owners – who have carried out careful renovation work and restored its original aspect.

The text was written in part by local historian Luciano Besozzi.