The Innocents of Florence: The Renaissance Discovery of Childhood
How a Florentine orphanage rescued thousands of children and revolutionized childhood education amid the splendor of Renaissance art.

Among the wonders of the Italian Renaissance and its inspired humanism was Florence’s Hospital of the Innocents, Europe’s first orphanage for abandoned children. In an era when children were often trafficked or left to die or roam the streets, an orphanage devoted to their care and protection was a striking innovation. Designed by Filippo Brunelleschi and a symbol of Florence’s cultural and architectural brilliance, the institution known as the Innocenti became a haven for more than 400,000 children across five centuries.

With deep knowledge of the literary and artistic environment in which this new understanding of childhood flowered, Joseph Luzzi explores how the Innocenti taught young children mercantile skills, rudimentary literature, and even, for a select few, the arts. Of course, he also does not shy away from addressing the flaws in the new institution’s pursuit of its high-minded mission, especially its struggles with rampant disease and political upheaval. All told, Luzzi gives readers the first comprehensive “biography” of a groundbreaking humanitarian institute that shaped education and childcare for generations to come.

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The Innocents of Florence: The Renaissance Discovery of Childhood
How a Florentine orphanage rescued thousands of children and revolutionized childhood education amid the splendor of Renaissance art.

Among the wonders of the Italian Renaissance and its inspired humanism was Florence’s Hospital of the Innocents, Europe’s first orphanage for abandoned children. In an era when children were often trafficked or left to die or roam the streets, an orphanage devoted to their care and protection was a striking innovation. Designed by Filippo Brunelleschi and a symbol of Florence’s cultural and architectural brilliance, the institution known as the Innocenti became a haven for more than 400,000 children across five centuries.

With deep knowledge of the literary and artistic environment in which this new understanding of childhood flowered, Joseph Luzzi explores how the Innocenti taught young children mercantile skills, rudimentary literature, and even, for a select few, the arts. Of course, he also does not shy away from addressing the flaws in the new institution’s pursuit of its high-minded mission, especially its struggles with rampant disease and political upheaval. All told, Luzzi gives readers the first comprehensive “biography” of a groundbreaking humanitarian institute that shaped education and childcare for generations to come.

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The Innocents of Florence: The Renaissance Discovery of Childhood

The Innocents of Florence: The Renaissance Discovery of Childhood

by Joseph Luzzi
The Innocents of Florence: The Renaissance Discovery of Childhood

The Innocents of Florence: The Renaissance Discovery of Childhood

by Joseph Luzzi

Overview

How a Florentine orphanage rescued thousands of children and revolutionized childhood education amid the splendor of Renaissance art.

Among the wonders of the Italian Renaissance and its inspired humanism was Florence’s Hospital of the Innocents, Europe’s first orphanage for abandoned children. In an era when children were often trafficked or left to die or roam the streets, an orphanage devoted to their care and protection was a striking innovation. Designed by Filippo Brunelleschi and a symbol of Florence’s cultural and architectural brilliance, the institution known as the Innocenti became a haven for more than 400,000 children across five centuries.

With deep knowledge of the literary and artistic environment in which this new understanding of childhood flowered, Joseph Luzzi explores how the Innocenti taught young children mercantile skills, rudimentary literature, and even, for a select few, the arts. Of course, he also does not shy away from addressing the flaws in the new institution’s pursuit of its high-minded mission, especially its struggles with rampant disease and political upheaval. All told, Luzzi gives readers the first comprehensive “biography” of a groundbreaking humanitarian institute that shaped education and childcare for generations to come.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781324065784
Publisher: Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date: 11/11/2025
Pages: 256
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Joseph Luzzi is the Asher B. Edelman Professor of Literature at Bard College and an award-winning scholar of Italian culture. His latest book, Botticelli’s Secret, was a New Yorker Best Book of 2022 and was shortlisted for the Ralph Waldo Emerson Award in 2023. He lives in the Hudson Valley of New York.
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