Museo degli Innocenti

This museum collects the historical and artistic heritage of the ancient Spedale degli Innocenti, a building designed at the beginning of the 15th century byFilippo Brunelleschi, in order to welcome the abandoned children (the "Innocents"), in a complex full of refectories, cloisters and dormitories. The children were called nocentini (which is also a very popular family name in Florence).

The  museum is made of two different parts: the Art Gallery houses works of art, especially paintings, made between the 14th and the 18th century, such as an “Adorazione dei Magi” by Domenico Ghirlandaio, a “Madonna col Bambino” attributed to Sandro Botticelli, and glazed terracottas by Luca and Andrea della Robbia; on the façade, terracotta roundels represent children in swaddling clothes, showing themselves to the world.

Another, touching part is the section of the museum dedicated to the memory of the lives of abandoned at the Spedale, and it features babies’ small objects left as a mean of identification, called signs.
The rich collection of documents in the Archive shows the life at the Spedale through the centuries.

The Bottega dei ragazzi (Children Workshop) offers activities for children between 3 and 11 with their families, applying the teaching of the Renaissance workshops: “learning by doing”.

The 13th century terrace hosts the Caffè del Verone, a café with a beautiful view, accessible even without the museum ticket.