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UK and Italy together to commemorate Florence Nightingale

Florence Nightingale commemorated in Rome on 12 May 2020.

This was published under the 2019 to 2022 Johnson Conservative government
Florence Nightingale projection on Spallanzani hospital in Rome

The British Embassy in Rome, together with Florence Nightingale Museum in London and the Italian Federation for Nurses, the Spallanzani hospital in Rome, and the St. Thomas and Guy’s hospitals in London, held a commemorative event in honour of the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale, on the evening on 12th May, at the Spallanzani hospital (pics).

The event marked the final moment of a programme of celebrations in honour of the bicentenary of the birth of Florence Nightingale: a touching moment, with projections created for the occasion illuminating the façade of the hospital, and a declamation of the Italian Nurses Pledge, based on the 1893 Florence Nightingale Pledge, by a group of Spallanzani nurses.

A UK-Italy bilateral initiative for our nations to thank “those who nurse” on the International Day of Nurses.

As we mark International Nurses Day, I am struck by how much we have overcome since the time of Florence Nightingale, yet still how many challenges we face. Nurses of all the world, of the Spallanzani, and of the Guys & St Thomas’: I am in awe of everything you do each day. Of your sacrifices, your passion, your professionalism, your humanity. Thank you

British Ambassador to Italy Jill Morris said.

The event happened in synchronisation with similar projections taking place at the Guy’s and St. Thomas Foundation Trust, and a spectacular projection on the British Parliament.

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Published 13 May 2020