Museo degli Innocenti

The history of the “Istituto degli Innocenti” began in 1419 with the building of the old hospital commissioned to the Silk Guild thanks to the bequest by Francesco Datini, a Prato merchant, “per principiare un luogo nuovo il quale i fanciulli notrichi e notrire faccia” (to start to build a new place that provided care of infants and children), which design was entrusted to Filippo Brunelleschi. The Institute, the oldest hospital built to house the foundlings, has been working for over six centuries. At the moment the museum is going through an important phase of restoration, but you can visit the monumental spaces as the Courtyard for Men and the Courtyard for Women with the marble sculpture by Simone Talenti. You can visit also the Grazzini hall, where an exhibition path illustrates the history of the Institute from the beginnings to the early twentieth century through archive documents.