Andrea Cimatti used to proudly call himself a “Countryside Otorhinolaryngologist”, a title between seriousness and irony that emphasises the idea that the conscientiousness of the specialist could perfectly engage with the humility of a man who never refused to help the people in need. After the conclusion of his residency in Otorhinolaryngology at the University of Bologna, he returned to his lovely native land, Romagna, in Faenza. By an irony of fate, he started to work at San Pier Damiano Hospital (GVM) on the 1st of May, 42 years ago, the worker’s day in Italy. He kept working at San Pier Damiano until August 2021, when for the first time a personal event, the malady that brought him to premature death, forced him to quit his job.
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In Memoriam of Andrea Cimatti
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In Memoriam of Andrea Cimatti
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In Memoriam of

Andrea Cimatti
Andrea Cimatti used to proudly call himself a “Countryside Otorhinolaryngolo-
gist”, a title between seriousness and irony that emphasises the idea that the con-
scientiousness of the specialist could perfectly engage with the humility of a man
who never refused to help the people in need.
After the conclusion of his residency in Otorhinolaryngology at the University of
Bologna, he returned to his lovely native land, Romagna, in Faenza. By an irony
of fate, he started to work at San Pier Damiano Hospital (GVM) on the 1st of May,
42 years ago, the worker’s day in Italy. He kept working at San Pier Damiano until
August 2021, when for the first time a personal event, the malady that brought him
to premature death, forced him to quit his job.
When I met him the first time, he was the chief of the Otorhinolaryngology De-
partment at San Pier Damiano Hospital since several years. Nevertheless, despite
his title, he used to arrive at the clinic at 6:30 AM every morning, sometimes even
earlier, mainly to visit the patients operated on the day before rather than “his” pa-
tients, his relatives, his friends, friends of his friends, or acquaintances, people for
whom Dr. Cimatti was more than a doctor but a point of reference.
That kind of reference in a community that nowadays the medical doctor doesn’t
represent anymore, but that Andrea still was, as a bulwark of a golden age of medi-
cine now at dusk.
In the evening, he hardly left work before 7-7:30 pm, and after regular visits, once
again he reserved some time for the patients in need without reservations. Any
patient who had a necessity could offend him only purposing a payment. Offering
a coffee at the bar of the clinic as a symbolic pledge instead of paying the visit was
the only kind of reward accepted.
For Andrea, there was no card to stamp at the end of the day. And this dedication
was reserved not only for those who asked for support from the otolaryngologist
but also from the doctor. Regardless of the illness, he was there, ready to put him-
self at the patient’s service.
I had the honor and the pleasure of being able to call myself his pupil. I have
certainly learned a lot in terms of clinical and surgical practice, but the greatest
legacy of my teacher is precisely this: knowing how to be a good “Countryside
Otorhinolaryngologist”, knowing how to be a great man, before being a great pro-
fessional.
He took me under his wing when I was still a medical student, and I spent over
seven years alongside him. During breaks between each patient in the operating
room, he used to give me clinical hints, interspersed with nostalgic memories of
Sant’Orsola Malpighi in Bologna and his years of residency. With esteem and af-
fection, he remembered his teachers as well as his friends and colleagues. Col-
leagues and friends who remained by his side until the end, supporting him or
praying for him, as well as his beloved family.
                                                                                           © Società Italiana di Otorinolaringoiatria
Andrea Cimatti passed away on January 27, 2022, at the age of 69, leaving behind           e Chirurgia Cervico-Facciale
a splendid and devoted wife and his three beloved children. This event leaves an
unbridgeable void between colleagues and this loss affects both his closest friends                       OPEN ACCESS
and the entire community.                                                                  This is an open access article distributed in accordance with
For those who possess the gift of faith, there can only be the wish that now the good      the CC-BY-NC-ND (Creative Commons Attribution-Non-
                                                                                           Commercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International) license. The
Lord has him in His glory, considering how much good he was able to do on earth.           article can be used by giving appropriate credit and mentio-
                                                                                           ning the license, but only for non-commercial purposes and
                                                                      Alberto Caranti      only in the original version. For further information: https://
                                                                                           creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.en




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