Museo degli Innocenti

"The Museo degli Innocenti tells the story of the Institute, founded in 1419 as the Ospedale degli Innocenti with the aim of welcoming, caring for and educating abandoned children. Since then, six centuries of history have nurtured this identity, enriching it with a rare cultural, historical and artistic heritage. The exhibition itinerary of the Museum is divided into three levels. 1. The historical section illustrates the evolution of the Hospital, from its origins to the twentieth century, through works of art, archive materials, biographies and testimonies of those who lived in this place. 2. The section dedicated to architecture includes the famous Loggia by Filippo Brunelleschi and the monumental Courtyards of the Institute, which we can admire today in their original appearance after centuries of transformations related to the needs of welcoming children. 3. The Art Gallery, above the Loggia of the façade, exhibits the art collection of the Istituto degli Innocenti: over 80 works ranging from the fourteenth to the seventeenth century. Artists include Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Piero di Cosimo, Luca and Andrea della Robbia. Beyond the Gallery, the Coretto di preghiera delle balie preserves devotional and liturgical objects used in the past by the great Innocenti family. In 2023, the Museo degli Innocenti obtained the renewal of its recognition as a museum of regional importance from the Tuscany Region, also becoming part of the National Museum System for the first time. The exhibition offering is complemented by the museum education services of the Bottega dei Ragazzi and a Bookshop specializing in children's publishing. It also has a pleasant refreshment point on the historic monumental terrace of the Caffè del Verone."