Spedale degli Innocenti – Hospital of the Innocents
The Spedale degli Innocenti – Hospital of the Innocents is located on Piazza Santissima Annunziata, which you can reach from the Duomo (cathedral) by taking Via dei Servi until you come out onto the square at its end.
Address: 12 Piazza Santissima Annunziata.
Opening hours: every day, 9:30–19:00 (from October 20, 2026 to April 4, 2027).
Admission: €11 (museum only), €16 in the case of a current exhibition.
In 1419 the Silk Guild entrusted Brunelleschi with the construction of a refuge for abandoned children. It received its first boarders in 1445.
The portico with columns is a reference to Antiquity and will give impetus to a new type of architecture in Florence.
The enameled terracotta medallions representing swaddled infants were added in 1487 by Andrea della Robbia.
The cortili – (the courtyards)
The men's courtyard was reserved for young boys and gave access to the church of Santa Maria degli Innocenti, whose door is surmounted by an Annunciation by Andrea della Robbia. On the right, the women's courtyard has a loggia on the first floor.
Galleria
The altarpiece of the Adoration of the Magi by Domenico Ghirlandaio was painted for the high altar of the church.
