Records of the nuns at the Lucca hospital: what exists and where (checked 2026-10-17)
What is known (printed sources, all online or saved)
Section titled “What is known (printed sources, all online or saved)”| Date | Source | What it says |
|---|---|---|
| 1847 | Un solco nella Chiesa (congregation history; saved here as Suore_Carita_Ivrea_Un_solco_nella_Chiesa_storia_congregazione_Lucca1847.pdf, pp. 41, 43, 44, 61) |
The Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception of Ivrea took on a hospital in Lucca in 1847, their first outside Piedmont. Madre Luigia led the three founding sisters (a military hospital at first). She was later Superior General 1865–1895. |
| 1854–55 | Almanacco Toscano 1854 p. 371; 1855 p. 385 (Google Books full view; archive.org bub_gb_Y5fOnwLsZxsC) |
“Suore di Carità dell’Istituto d’Ivrea” are the nurses (infermiere) of the RR. Spedali di Lucca and supervise kitchen and linen. Two sisters supervise the internal economy. Two run the Santa Giustina orphan girls’ home. |
| 1867/1871 | Spedali di Lucca. Suore di carità – riduzione di numero – ricorso (Lucca, Giusti; 92 pp.) | A dispute over cutting the number of sisters at the hospital. |
| 1871 | A. Brugi, Appendice ai miei Cenni… RR. Spedali ed Ospizii di Lucca, p. 58 (archive.org bub_gb_agq5ZMJDinEC) |
Praises the “Suore di Carità dell’Istituto d’Ivrea, dirette da una Donna insigne” (led by a distinguished woman; the superior is not named in the snippet). |
| (c. 1900?) | L. Ricci, La Croce verde di Lucca: storia della pubblica assistenza (2001), p. 63 | Mentions the “suore della Carità” at the Spedali and a “Lettera aperta” (open letter) to the Prefect about the Spedali di Lucca. This is probably the turn-of-the-century dispute over nuns versus lay nurses. Not online; snippet only. |
Not found: any list of individual sisters’ names at the Lucca hospital, any source naming the order between 1890 and 1920, and the nun “Nina Gagliardi”.
Where detailed records of individual sisters would be
Section titled “Where detailed records of individual sisters would be”- The congregation’s own archive (most likely to have names, dates and assignments): Suore di Carità dell’Immacolata Concezione d’Ivrea, Curia Generalizia, Via della Renella 85, 00153 Roma. [email protected], tel. +39 06 5818145 (source: scicivrea.it). Ask for: the sisters assigned to the Regi Spedali (Ospedale) di Lucca c. 1895–1920, especially any on the brefotrofio / Sala di Maternità; the house chronicle (cronaca della casa) of the Lucca community; whether a sister Nina / Giovanna Gagliardi (or one known by that name) belonged to the congregation.
- Archivio di Stato di Lucca, Regi Spedali e Ospizi fonds (inventory 1623), section “Risorse umane, economiche e strumentali”: staff files, contracts and agreements (convenzioni) with the Ivrea institute, council decisions about the sisters. The family should capture the unit list of this section on their next phone/VPN session.
- Archivio Storico Diocesano di Lucca: records of religious communities in the archdiocese (visitations, lists of religious houses).
- Books to consult in a Lucca library (Biblioteca Statale di Lucca or the ASLu library): R. Domenici, Disagio solidarietà accoglienza (2016), on institutions for abandoned children in Lucca in the early 20th century; L. Ricci, La Croce verde di Lucca (2001); the 1886 Regolamento dei RR. Spedali ed Ospizi di Lucca, which should set out the sisters’ duties.
Tried without result
Section titled “Tried without result”- Google Books full-text searches. The API quota is exhausted, and the 1897–1900 Annuario ecclesiastico (Google id
wFKiZcd_NosC) asks for a CAPTCHA before a full PDF download. Its Lucca diocese pages (432–437) list parishes, but the extract did not show the hospital nuns. - HathiTrust full text (403 from this network); archive.org metadata search; FamilySearch full text (“Nina Gagliardi”, “Suor Nina”).
Source note: 01_italy_lucca/brefotrofio_history/nuns_records_where_to_find.md