The gardens of the Pincio, in Rome, have been enriched with a new bust. It is a marble sculpture dedicated to doctors, nurses and health and social workers who, for months now, fight against the coronavirus pandemic on a daily basis. The bust, which was positioned on the Roman hill north of the Quirinale, depicts a person with his head covered by the hood of the anti Covid suit. The face is hidden by protective goggles and a mask equipped with a valve with a red cross imprinted on it and the words "Soldati anti Covid-19, 2020".
Protagonists in the battle against the coronavirus
The new bust of the Pincio is a recognition of the precious work of healthcare personnel that every day works incessantly in hospitals, to treat coronavirus patients. Since the pandemic arrived in our country, we have often seen exhausted doctors and nurses in the covid wards. Today, months later, they continue to struggle in the ward and in intensive care to save lives, even putting theirs at risk. We defined them as angels when they remained at the bedside of those who did not manage to defeat the virus, in an attempt to make them feel a little less alone. We have called them heroes for the courage and high sense of duty that guide them in their mission. We talked about it as soldiers lined up on the front line against the invasion of a devious enemy, difficult to fight.
Great gratitude
The bust positioned at the Pincio represents this reality well. How many times have we stopped to look at the tired and suffering faces of doctors and nurses, marked by the elastic of the mask, after endless and exhausting shifts? On them, today more than ever, we place our trust, frightened by this monster that paralyzes the whole world. The Coronavirus epidemic has not only highlighted the great competence and professionalism of our healthcare staff, but has made us understand that our healthcare needs to be strengthened. All our respect and gratitude goes to these men and women of worth.
The bust to the new heroes, symbol of a historical period
Today, in the Pincio gardens, the bust dedicated to the “anti-covid soldiers” of this fatal year increases one of the largest collections of marble busts in Europe. These are sculptures that portray famous people. Among these, artists, politicians, Risorgimento figures, generals, aviators and heroes. The first series of busts was placed in the gardens starting in 1851, during the Roman Republic. The entire collection was completed in 1950 with the addition of Michelangelo, Scipione l'Africano and Grazia Deledda. The bust dedicated to these modern heroes, as well as an acknowledgment of their work, is intended to represent the symbol of this tragic historical period, deeply marked by the pandemic.
