Punk rock poet Patti Smith said she is “resting, as the doctor ordered” after she was briefly hospitalized over an unspecified illness along the Italian leg of her tour earlier this week.
The “Piss Factory” songstress, 76, abruptly canceled a performance in Bologna on Tuesday night after coming down with what venue officials described as a “sudden illness.” A day later, the Local Health Authority of Bologna told the Los Angeles Times that Smith had been discharged after being held for “a short period of observation in emergency medicine.”
Officials told the Times that Smith was “in good health,” adding in its statement that her medical team believes the septuagenarian rocker will be able to return to the stage after “an appropriate period of rest.”
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On Thursday, Smith posted a photo of her smiling with a medical team in a hospital hallway, thanking them for their “help and guidance.” She apologized for canceling the Bologna gig and another show that had been scheduled Thursday in Venice. A book-signing event in Milan later this week was also nixed as a result of the hospitalization.
“I will return to fulfill my happy obligations,” she promised. Smith did not immediately share details on new dates, and officials at the Teatro Duse—the Bologna venue—confirmed to the Times that there are no current plans to reschedule the scrapped Dec. 12 show.
Smith’s eight-show sojourn through Italy began last month, with concerts and signings held in Ancona, Bari, Naples, and Modena. She is expected to perform in Chicago and New York City later this month.
