Florence - Hospital of the Innocents Spedale degli Innocenti
In 1419 the guild of silk merchants and tailors commissioned the architect Filippo Brunelleschi, who built the dome of the cathedral, to build a foundling hospital, the "Hospital of the Innocents", equating the foundlings with the slaughtered first-born of Bethlehem. Until 1875 mothers who wanted to leave their new-born babes anonymously in the care of the orphanage could put them in the "ruota", a revolving wooden cylinder at the end of the portico.
The Spedale degli Innocenti marks the debut of Renaissance architecture in Florence.
The Spedale degli Innocenti marks the debut of Renaissance architecture in Florence.
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Must-see attractions nearby:
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Hospital of the Innocents
Piazza della Santissima Annunziata 12
I-50100 Florence
Italy
Piazza della Santissima Annunziata 12
I-50100 Florence
Italy
Hours
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | 8:30 | 8:30 | Closed | 8:30 | 8:30 | 8:30 | 8:30 |
| Close | 14:00 | 14:00 | 14:00 | 14:00 | 14:00 | 14:00 |
Always closed on:
New Year's Day (January 1)
Epiphany (3 Kings' Day ) - Christian (January 6)
Liberation Day - Italy (April 25)
May Day / Labor Day (May 1)
Assumption Day - Christian (August 15)
All Saints' Day - Christian (November 1)
Christmas - Christian (December 25)
Day after Christmas, St Stephen's Day, Boxing Day (December 26)
Easter Monday - Christian (Apr 09)
Easter - Christian (Apr 08)
Epiphany (3 Kings' Day ) - Christian (January 6)
Liberation Day - Italy (April 25)
May Day / Labor Day (May 1)
Assumption Day - Christian (August 15)
All Saints' Day - Christian (November 1)
Christmas - Christian (December 25)
Day after Christmas, St Stephen's Day, Boxing Day (December 26)
Easter Monday - Christian (Apr 09)
Easter - Christian (Apr 08)
Related Attractions
Galleria dello Spedale degli Innocenti
The Galleria dello Spedale degli Innocenti has pictures, sculpture, miniatures and furniture from the 14th to 18th century. Outstanding exhibits include works by Giovanni del Biondo, Rossellino, Benedetto da Maiano and, in particular, Domenico Ghirlandaio and Andrea del Sarto, as well as Luca della Robbia's terracotta Madonna.
Spedale degli Innocenti - Loggia
The Spedale is famous for its loggia, a harmonious arcade of columns. The consummate architecture is complemented by frescoes under the arcades and in the lunettes above the doors, as well as by the ten famous glazed terracotta medallions of infants in swaddling clothes by Andrea della Robbia (ca. 1463).
Spedale degli Innocenti - Santa Maria degli Innocenti
The portico leads to the church of Santa Maria degli Innocenti and beyond that, through a door connecting it with the church, to a cloister designed by Brunelleschi. In the lunette is a glazed terracotta "Annunciation" by Andrea della Robbia.
Spedale degli Innocenti and Collection of Frescoes
Besides the Galleria dello Spedale degli Innocenti's own works of art there is also a collection of frescoes on the first floor that have been brought here from their original sites. They are by such Florentine artists as Poccetti, Bicci di Lorenzo, Lorenzo Monaco, Allori, Rosselli, Ghirlandaio, Fra Bartolomeo, Perugino and della Robbia.
