UPMC has been present in Italy since 1997, when it established a public-private partnership in the region of Sicily, with the creation of the Mediterranean Institute for Transplants and Highly Specialized Therapies (ISMETT) in Palermo. As of March 2024, ISMETT has reached the historic milestone of 3,000 transplants over 25 years of activity.
In the wake of that partnership, UPMC is now building a health and research hub in Sicily. It will include a new 250-bed hospital and the Centre for Biotechnology and Biomedical Research of the Ri.MED Foundation, a centre of excellence for high-tech biotechnological and biomedical research projects. The Foundation was born from the collaboration between UPMC, the Presidency of the Council, the CNR, the region of Sicily, and the University of Pittsburgh.
UPMC has also established two advanced radiotherapy centers: UPMC Hillman Cancer Center San Pietro FBF, in Rome and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center Villa Maria, in the province of Avellino in Mirabella Eclano. They are both part of UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, one of the world's first integrated oncology and research networks. In the United States alone, more than 150,000 people are assisted each year.
Since 2018, UPMC has been operating the private UPMC Salvator Mundi International Hospital in Rome.
