An exhibition about infancy is being hosted by the Florentine institution which most represents children: the Istituto degli Innocenti.

Figli d’Italia, Children of Italy, looks at the first fifty years of Italy as a united nation from a new point of view. This was a time when themes related to children and their care became part of the newly-born social politics of the united nation.

Through the biographies of some orphans who lived at the Innocenti and in other charitable Italian institutions between 1861 and 1911, and thanks to old photographs and documents from the archives, the exhibition describes the daily life of the children inside the Institute.

The exhibition is organized chronologically: from the last years of the use of the barred windows up to their closing, which in Florence happened in 1875, marking the end of anonymous abandonment and introducing new methods of reception of the babies.

Brogi’s photographs, kept in the Archives of the Istituto degli Innocenti, illustrate the evolution of the spaces and functions of the Hospital. The historical events are presented side by side with the children’s biographies, telling stories not only of abandonment, but also of travel, reunion with their families and new ties of affection.

Children of Italy. The Istituto degli Innocenti and the Birth of a National Project for Children (1861-1911)

3rd December 2011 – 4th June 2012
Florence, Museo degli Innocenti

Admission (museum included): € 5.00, concessions € 4.00
From Monday to Sunday from 10.00 am to 7.00 pm.

Info: museo@istitutodeglinnocenti.it, +39 055 2037308