Florence Nightingale’s birthplace

Florence Nightingale was born on 12^th of May 1820 in the XIV Century Villa La Colombia, on the hills of Florence (Via di Santa Maria a Marignolle, 2), where her parents spent some time during their long Italian tour after wedding.

Today the Villa is a Provincial house of the religious congregation of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ and can be visited in part, jointly with the garden which has a marvellous vista on Florence downtown.

Near the entrance hall, an original 1931 certificate by the Florence Nightingale Institute of Honorables of Los Angeles, witnesses the merits of the then owners of the house, Mr and Mrs Foster, for dispensing “welcome to pilgrims” at the Florence Nightingale’s birthplace.

• Photos by Luca Borghi @ (October 2010), courtesy of the Sisters Adorers of the Blood of Christ.

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