Florence - Loggia del Bigallo (Museo del Bigallo)

This typical late-Gothic building near the Duomo and Battistero was commissioned by the Confraternity of Mercy (Compagnia della Misericordia) as a place to "display" lost or abandoned children for adoption. The marble loggia and the little palace it is part of were built between 1353 and 1358, probably by Ambrogio di Renzo. In 1445 Ventura di Moro and Rossello di Jacopo Franchi painted the walls under the double arches with frescoes of scenes from the life of St Peter, but the ones there now are only copies. Some of the originals are to be seen in the town hall inside the palace, which also has works of 14th and 15th century Florentine artists.