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Buildings

Ospedale degli Innocenti

Foundling hospital established with a bequest from the wealthy Pratese merchant Francesco Datini that was used in 1419 to purchase portion of a garden belonging to M. Rinaldo di M. Maso degli Albizzi under the auspices of the silk guild. Stefano Rosselli records that the guild spent over 30,000 scudi on construction from 1419 through 1452. Though construction was ongoing, the hospital welcomed its first child on 5 February 1444 (o.s.), that is, in 1445, and the church was consecrated on 11 April 1451 by Archbishop Antonino Pierozzi.

Affiliations (1 total)
  • hospital
Database ID 83

Location

Alternate Names

  • Hospital of the Innocenti
  • Innocenti
  • Nocenti
  • Ospedale di Santa Maria degli Innocenti
  • S. Maria nello Spedale degli Esposti
  • S. Maria nello Spedale degl'Innocenti
  • Spedale degl'Innocenti
  • Spedale delli Innocenti

Dates

1419 a
foundation
February 5th, 1445 to present b
duration
April 11th, 1451

Affiliated Groups (3 total)

Arte della Seta
1419 to 1770 c
famiglia degli Innocenti
February 5th, 1445 to 1875
Opera dello Spedale degli Innocenti

Spaces (5 total)

Memorials (20 total)

Memorialized Groups (13)

12 Families (click to expand)

1 Guild (click to expand)

Memorialized Individuals (9)

Sources (1 total)

ASF, Manoscritti, 625, Rosselli, Sepoltuario Fiorentino, 1657 (copy) pp. 1359-1369

Notes

  • [a] According to a manuscript by Rev. Vincenzio Tazzi, as relayed by Stefano Rosselli (625, p. 1359), part of a garden owned by messer Rinaldo di messer Maso degli Albizzi was purchased for the purpose of building a foundling hospital under the auspices of the Arte di Por S. Maria, also known as the Arte della Seta or Silk Guild as recorded by their notary and chancellor ser Lodovico Bertini delle Tavernelle.
  • [b] For more on the long history of the institution, visit the website of the Museo degli Innocenti Firenze.
  • [c] The Arte della Seta, or Por Santa Maria, was responsible for the management of the hospital through the appointment of "operai" until the suppression of the guilds in 1770.