Medicine in the Middle Ages: science, religion and therapeutic practices – a talk with Professor Renzo Dionigi at the cloister in Voltorre

The Voltorre cloister in Gavirate will host a talk on Friday 18 September at 5.30 pm dedicated to medicine in the Middle Ages, featuring Professor Renzo Dionigi, former Rector of the University of Insubria.

The lecture, entitled ‘The Body and the Soul: Medicine in the Middle Ages’, offers an in-depth exploration of medical knowledge, therapeutic practices and conceptions of health prevalent in the medieval era, a historical period in which the care of the body was closely linked to the spiritual and religious dimensions.

During the event, Professor Dionigi will guide the audience through some of the most significant aspects of medieval medicine, focusing on how illness, pain and healing were interpreted, and on the tools available to doctors and healers of the time. It was a context in which observation of the body, knowledge handed down through tradition, natural remedies and religious beliefs coexisted and helped to define the relationship between doctor and patient.

The event will also provide an opportunity to understand how medieval medical thought developed through the interplay between classical culture, Christian tradition and the gradual acquisition of new knowledge, during a significant period in the history of European medicine.

The event forms part of a series of events dedicated to local and medieval history and takes place in one of the sites of greatest historical and artistic interest in the Varese area: the cloister of Voltorre.

Participation is free of charge and admission is open to all, subject to availability. Following the conference, there will be a social gathering with refreshments in the cloister.