According to reports published by Italian mainstream media this week, healthcare titan George M. Rapier III, chairman and CEO of Texas-based WellMed Medical Management, has donated €1 million to healthcare providers in rural Tuscany, including €200,000 to the San Giuseppe Hospital in Empoli and €800,000 to the Società della Salute Empolese Valdarno Valdelsa, an institute for health and care, also in Empoli.
Rapier recently purchased one Tuscany’s most celebrated Renaissance villas, the Villa Bibbiani, in the nearby hamlet of Capraia e Limite.
“We are infinitely grateful,” said Capraia e Limite mayor Alessandro Giunti according an account posted by the Corriere Fiorentino, a regional daily newspaper based in Florence. “I’d like to express my deepest gratitude for his willingness and generosity in helping the community of Capraia e Limite and the surrounding area.”
Rural areas in Italy, as in America, are often underserved in terms of their healthcare needs.
The Bibbiani estate (above) also produces top-quality wines and its ambassadors were planning to attend the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce South Central Taste of Italy festival and trade fair at the end of March in Houston (postponed due to the ongoing health crisis).
Image from the Villa Bibbiani Facebook.