Piazza Santissima Annunziata in Florence. Ospedale degli innocenti, frontside. Architect: Filippo. Brunelleschi
Title
Piazza Santissima Annunziata in Florence. Ospedale degli innocenti, frontside. Architect: Filippo. Brunelleschi
Description
This building was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446), who oversaw its construction for the first decade after the start of its commission in 1419. It is both an excellent example of Renaissance architecture by a recognized master artist, and an example of a major way in which European cities during the Renaissance cared for the poor. As Merry Wiesner-Hanks explains, this hospital for orphans and abandoned children was designed so that "all proportions - of the windows, height, floor plan, and covered walkway with a series of rounded arches - were carefully thought out to achieve a sense of balance and harmony" (Wiesner-Hanks, 153). Brunelleschi, who most famously designed the dome of the Florence Cathedral, an accomplishment that led Giorgio Vasari to claim, "his genius was so commanding that he can surely say he was sent by heaven to renew the art of architecture" (Vasari, 133).
Several aspects of the building reflect typical Renaissance approaches to social welfare provision. The hospital was commissioned by the silk-workers' guild, which makes it one of many urban institutions that were initiated by secular or religious organizations, rather than by political authorities. It targeted a group of "worthy" poor, those "innocents" who, through no fault of their own, had been left dependents of the state. Finally, the highly specific nature of the charitable foundation was characteristic of an era that targeted individual needs of discrete urban populations, rather than sought to create general social welfare policies.
Several aspects of the building reflect typical Renaissance approaches to social welfare provision. The hospital was commissioned by the silk-workers' guild, which makes it one of many urban institutions that were initiated by secular or religious organizations, rather than by political authorities. It targeted a group of "worthy" poor, those "innocents" who, through no fault of their own, had been left dependents of the state. Finally, the highly specific nature of the charitable foundation was characteristic of an era that targeted individual needs of discrete urban populations, rather than sought to create general social welfare policies.
Creator
Warburg.
Source
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:UNICEF_Innocenti_Research_Centre.jpg
Date
1419-1447 (from commission to opening of the building). Renaissance.
Contributor
Susannah Ottaway
Rights
Licensed under creative commons.
Citation
Warburg., “Piazza Santissima Annunziata in Florence. Ospedale degli innocenti, frontside. Architect: Filippo. Brunelleschi,” HIST 139 - Early Modern Europe, accessed July 21, 2025, https://earlymoderneurope.hist.sites.carleton.edu/items/show/1.