Italy was the hardest-hit country in the early days of the COVID-19 crisis. Ducati’s northern Italian home region of Emilia-Romagna played a vital role in the treatment of the virus. As May dawned, Ducati started the #RaceAgainstCovid fundraiser to assist the Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna Policlinico Sant’Orsola Malpighi. Policlinico S.Orsola-Malpighi handles 65,000 hospitalizations annually, and dates back to 1592. By the end of July, #RaceAgainstCovid raised €170,000 (approximately $200,000) for the hospital.
The money came in from a variety of sources. Initially, the Ducati management board, Borgo Panigale employees, and other subsidiary workers donated to #RaceAgainstCovid. Ducati doubled that immediately. From there, donations came from initiatives at the Ducati Owners Club, dealers, suppliers, partners, and Ducatisti.
French artist Jisbar donated his Ducati Mona Lisa pop-art painting to the cause. Jisbar, a street artist with skateboarding roots, has a series of paintings appropriating the classic Leonardo da Vince image—#MonaLisaMission—integrating her composed countenance into the 21st century. Cambi, a noted auction house in Genova, handled the sale of Ducati Mona Lisa, with the striking artwork raising €5500 for the #RaceAgainstCovid cause.
The €170,000 will be put to good use. According to a Ducati spokesman, Policlinico S.Orsola “will use it to purchase the specific instrumentation to meet the diagnostic needs of patients undergoing rehabilitation therapy following COVID-19 infection. In particular, further ultrasound technologies will be implemented to allow the execution of tests that are not invasive or harmful to the patient. Specifically, with the funds obtained, an internal ultrasound scanner, a cardiac ultrasound scanner, and six ultrasound scanners with wireless probe will be purchased.”
The sprawling Policlinico S.Orsola campus has 27 pavilions, 87 operating room, 1487 beds, and 5183 employees. Part of Universitaria di Bologna, Policlinico S.Orsola is a leading teaching and research facility, as well as providing health care to those in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.
