The Innocents of Florence, 9781324065784
Hardcover
Florence’s first orphanage: A haven of hope amidst Renaissance brilliance.
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The Innocents of Florence

the renaissance discovery of childhood

$45.60

  • Hardcover

    256 pages

  • Release Date

    28 November 2025

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Summary

Florence’s Haven: A History of the Innocenti

Among the wonders of the Italian Renaissance was Florence’s Hospital of the Innocents, Europe’s first orphanage. 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. A symbol of Florence’s cultural and architectural brilliance, designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, the institution known as the Innocenti became a haven for more than 400,00…

Book Details

ISBN-13:9781324065784
ISBN-10:1324065788
Author:Joseph Luzzi
Publisher:WW Norton & Co
Imprint:WW Norton & Co
Format:Hardcover
Number of Pages:256
Release Date:28 November 2025
Weight:0g
Dimensions:210mm x 140mm
What They're Saying

Critics Review

Joseph Luzzi’s compact study of a single orphanage in Florence is a marvelous – and sobering – history of how we think about so-called abandoned children and childhood itself. He helps us understand family structure in Italy, certainly, but he also offers insights into artistic patronage during the Renaissance, Italian unification in the nineteenth century and post-World War II notions of human and children’s rights. A remarkable achievement. –John T. McGreevy, author of Catholicism: A Global History from the French Revolution to Pope Francis–John T. McGreevy, author of Catholicism: A Global History from the French Revolution to Pope Francis

About The Author

Joseph Luzzi

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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