Duno and the Medical Temple commissioned by a priest

In the heart of Valcuvia, a few kilometers from Lake Maggiore and Luino, there is a singular temple dedicated to the medical profession, around which commemorative ceremonies and recurring celebrations are held.

Source:  http://www.centrostudipromozioneprofessionemedica.it/

You buy from the doctor something of inestimable value, life and good health; from the professor of fine literature liberal studies and the culture of the spirit; therefore you pay not the price of the thing you buy to either of them, but that of their effort

There are tens of thousands of phrases of this tenor, written in ancient Italian, in the book “Medicus Bilinguis” by Don Carlo Cambiano, parish priest of Duno in Valcuvia in the 1930s, published to pay homage to the profession of the doctor.

The book testifies to the great passion that Don Carlo had for medicine, a passion that led him to engage in the creation of a singular Temple of the Doctor of Italy in the small mountain village, which still today is the site of various commemorative ceremonies, including the recent Mass in memory of Doctor Stella from Busto Arsizio, who died due to Covid.

Illustrazione del Tempio Medico di Duno dal libro “Medicus” di Carlo Cambiano – fonte: www.centrostudipromozioneprofessionemedica.i

The pandemic has highlighted all the fragility and heroism that characterize the medical profession and unite it with the religious one: they both deal with the mystery of death every day.

Duno, a village of a hundred souls, immersed in the greenery of the valley on the slopes of Monte Nudo, has therefore managed, thanks to the commitment of this singular priest, to carve out a unique role in our province. Even today, almost a century later, the Temple is a pilgrimage destination for all those who have chosen to dedicate their lives to others, studying Medicine and Surgery.

In the path of this tradition, other beautiful initiatives have been recorded (often led by the historian Giuseppe Armocida), such as the creation of a sundial with the inscription “Medicina vita est” and an en plein air museum where, through the works created, can meditate on the meaning of science and its fight for the defense of health, in the lush green of Valcuvia. As Don Cambiano always writes “Among all colors, green rests the sight and salutary delights it”.