{"id":277,"date":"2008-08-10T17:52:51","date_gmt":"2008-08-10T16:52:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.arttrav.com\/?p=277"},"modified":"2023-02-02T20:26:44","modified_gmt":"2023-02-02T19:26:44","slug":"ospedale-degli-innocenti","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arttrav.com\/florence\/ospedale-degli-innocenti\/","title":{"rendered":"Ospedale degli Innocenti: a social history"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brunelleschi’s building in Piazza S.S. Annunziata<\/strong> is easily recognized by its majestic portico, a series of round arches punctuated by roundels of swaddled babes by the Della Robbia<\/strong> family. But many visitors to and even residents of the city do not know much about its function<\/strong>. This article covers the history of the Innocenti as an institution.<\/p>\n

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The Ospedale degli Innocenti<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The building opened its doors as a foundling hospital<\/strong>, the ancestor of the modern day orphanage, in 1445. This was in response to the city’s problem of infant abandonmen<\/strong>t, which had recently come more to the patricians’ attention, not in the least because often, abandoned babies were products of the servant-master relations of these same patricians. Unwanted babies were often exposed to the elements or drowned. The city responded to this terrible fact mainly because of the concern for the unbaptised souls of the children. The Institution of the Innocenti sought mainly to remedy this problem.<\/p>\n

The portico, or loggia<\/em>, by Brunelleschi was begun in 1419. The construction of the orphanage was financed by a sum left in the will of Francesco Datini (the famous “merchant of Prato”), though also by the silk guild and the Commune of Florence. Public structures for the poor and helpless were one of the proper ways to spend money in Renaissance Florence: a humanist text by Matteo Palmieri (della vita civile<\/em>) says:<\/p>\n

Those who have some natural defect of illness or of age… deserve public subsidy… If they are small children, their preservation is at stake… for the future comfort and betterment of the common wealth.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The institution was for common good, and it contributed to civic pride.<\/strong> The importance of a beautiful facade by a prominent architect, Brunelleschi, can be linked to this matter. The loggia<\/em>, which for the first time incorporates a rational system of architecture based on the ancients, is an important monument in the development of Renaissance architecture, and a matter of pride for the Florentines.<\/p>\n

Infant abandonment in Renaissance Florence<\/h2>\n
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A post shared by Art & Travel | Alexandra Korey (@arttrav)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n