Patti Smith in "Good Health" After Being Hospitalized Due to "Sudden Illness"

She has cancelled appearances on her Italian tour to take "an appropriate period of rest," according to local health authorities

Photo: Matt Forsythe

BY Megan LaPierrePublished Dec 14, 2023

The venerable Patti Smith has reportedly been hospitalized amid her Italian tour, having cancelled a scheduled performance in Bologna yesterday (December 12) due to "sudden illness."

UPDATE (12/14, 6:13 a.m. PT): A statement from health authorities in Bologna said that Smith had been discharged and was in "good health" [via The Guardian]. It added that they looked forward to seeing her perform again "after an appropriate period of rest."

Smith also thanked hospital staff for their "help and guidance" on Instagram, writing, "I am resting, as the doctor ordered, grateful to have had such care, though being painfully aware that many are not so fortunate."

 

UPDATE (12/13, 12:23 p.m. PT): Smith's Venice concert tomorrow (December 14) has also been cancelled, as well as a signing event in Milan originally scheduled for Friday (December 15), Rolling Stone reports.

"With great regret, we inform the kind audience that Patti Smith's concert will not be able to go on stage due to a sudden illness that struck the artist," representatives for the Duse Theatre, where the icon was slated to take the stage, wrote in a statement (translated into English). "We are all sorry for the inconvenience caused by this news. Our best wishes for a speedy recovery go to the artist."

According to Italian news outlet TG Com 24, Smith was taken to the Maggiore hospital and is being kept under observation.

Her next stop of the tour is supposed to take place at Venice's Teatro Malibran tomorrow (December 14), and it has yet to be confirmed whether the show will go on. However, the artist has been active on Instagram today, sharing a story post about reproductive rights.

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