Portrait of Savina Alfieri Nasoni

Savina Alfieri Nasoni (1837-1911), widow of the great philanthropist Vincenzo Nasoni (who died in 1886), in 1899 made a donation of 60,000 lire in favor of the Maggiore Hospital. The benefactor also supports the Institute of the Blind, the Institute of Santa Corona, the Pio Albergo Trivulzio, and establishes an Infantile Kindergarten in the Niguarda area. Initially the hospital council decided to entrust the execution of the portrait to Giuseppe Mentessi, who renounced the job, suggesting in its place the friend Emilio Longoni, who in this period lacked important commissions and was supported and helped by friends and admirers.