Orphanage architecture
Introduction
The Ospedale degli Innocenti (in Spanish: Hospital of the Innocents; also, Spedale degli Innocenti) was an orphanage in Florence, Italy, founded by part of the legacy of the rich merchant Francesco di Marco Datini and designed by Filippo Brunelleschi,[1][2] who in the year 1419 was working for the "Arte della Seta",[3] the silk and goldsmiths guild, in its main charity center in the city. This guild was one of the richest in the city and, like most of the brotherhoods, assumed philanthropic obligations. Likewise, including "innocents" in the name would refer to the biblical passage where it is discussed how Herod seeks to kill all the firstborn in order to get rid of Jesus.
It was an orphanage where unwanted children could be abandoned by their mothers. For the most part, these women were servants, who could not reject the advances that their employers had for fear of losing their jobs, and this is how, anonymously, they gave the children to the charity of the guild.[6] Regarding the construction of the center, it would be the church and corporate foundation who work together in order to reflect being a community favored by God and responsible from a civic point of view, highlighting the reciprocal relationships between God and the citizen in architectural terms.[5].
History of the building
Initially, there was a budget of 1000 florins donated by the merchant and philanthropist Francesco Di Marco Datini; Brunelleschi will direct the work until 1427, it is from this date that other architects will work such as Franceso della Luna, who has been assigned the second floor of the façade completed by Jacopo Roselli. Its construction ended on January 24, 1445, immediately beginning its functions.
After the Board of Trustees ended in 1775, it was administered until 1814, by a special commission for the hospital, created by the French government. Starting in 1862, its administration was separated from the government, remaining in the hands of an operational administrative Council until 1888; Since 1890 it has acquired the status of Institute of Public Assistance and Charity, directed by a Council attended by representatives of the Tuscany region, the Province and the commune of Florence. After the 1967 flood, it was completely restored thanks to contributions from multiple institutions, returning many of its original characteristics. In addition, around 1988 it housed the Innocenti Research Center, UNICEF's main research entity, founded to improve knowledge of children's rights internationally and promote the application of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1959) in industrialized and developing countries. Finally, in 2002, a reform of the statutes made it possible to create the figure of a general director and it currently functions as a historical museum on this topic and of art related to childhood.[5].