Aunt Catherine

Caterina Bellandi, better known as Aunt Caterina, is a taxi driver from Florence who inherited the taxi from a love who died prematurely and tried to make it a meeting place. During this time she found herself in need of hospital care and also from this ordeal a passionate appeal was born: «It's strange to go to the other side and become the patient after so many years of running around the hospital departments with my superheroes, following them and accompanying them with my taxi between their tests and treatments. Now I'm the one lying on a bed. In this time, in which I am unusually forced to sit still, I have had the opportunity to reflect even better on the world that I have been frequenting for so many years. Public health is truly a heritage! Even more so the dedication and professionalism of the healthcare workers!".

Aunt Caterina assiduously frequents the hospitals in Florence and surrounding areas (where she lives) because she accompanies sick children and tries to bring a touch of color into the midst of pain. He continues his appeal: «But all the commitment of the staff is not enough, the structures need modernization... In addition, I would like to create a task force of health workers who can support and encourage the humanization of care and the relationship with the patients. To this end, I ask all those involved, in various capacities, in the world of healthcare to send an email to this address to start collecting their membership right now with a simple name, surname, role, telephone number and place of work: milano25onlus@ gmail.com".

Last year Caterina with her Milano25 taxi was awarded the honor of Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic for her generosity in giving serenity to sick children and their families by accompanying them free of charge with her taxi to carry out treatment. Even the unexpected event of an illness can be transformed into an extra opportunity. In fact, she concludes: «As always, for me, pain must and can become an opportunity for growth and new love. Even from my bed and with the oxygen I breathe through a mask I look at life and life is the future. I'm lucky to be so in love with living."


Roberto Lerda
NP February 2024