A journey through the darkest history of medicine, when aid on the battlefields was provided with courage, intuition, suffering, and practices that are almost inconceivable today: amputations without anesthesia, wounds cauterized with red-hot irons, extreme surgical procedures, bloodletting, leeches, cupping, and remedies based on ancient beliefs and deep-seated fears.

From the Roman Legions to the Second World War, through the Middle Ages, barber surgery, epidemics, trenches, and the first systems against asphyxiating gases, the route tells the storey of the evolution of first aid and military medicine: a storey of mistakes, atrocities, discoveries, and decisive progress.

Among disturbing remedies, surgical instruments, medical legends and testimonies from the front, the visit allows you to understand how long and dramatic the journey was that led to modern medicine and the very idea of humanitarian aid.

A fascinating and intense experience to discover the rawest, most surprising and often forgotten side of the history of medicine.

Duration of the tour: 90 minutes

Meeting point: In front of the Villa entrance, Via Giuseppe Garibaldi, 45, 25086 Rezzato BS, Italy

All our guided visits are conducted by licensed tour guides

Please arrive 10 minutes before the start of the tour. The tours start on time, without delay.