The Innocents of Florence
The Renaissance Discovery of Childhood
$34.97
- Hardcover
240 pages
- Release Date
15 February 2026
Summary
The story begins with the abandonment of the newborn Agata Smeralda on February 5, 1445, in Florence’s Hospital of the Innocents, the first—but certainly not the last—child to be left at its doors. In an era when children were frequently abandoned, often trafficked or left to die on the streets, an orphanage devoted to their care and protection was a striking innovation. The Innocenti, as it has come to be called—the first orphanage in Europe devoted exclusively to unwanted children—would go …
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781324065784 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1324065788 |
| Author: | Joseph Luzzi |
| Publisher: | WW Norton & Co |
| Imprint: | WW Norton & Co |
| Format: | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages: | 240 |
| Release Date: | 15 February 2026 |
| Weight: | 361g |
| Dimensions: | 218mm x 147mm x 23mm |
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What They're Saying
Critics Review
More than a history of a building–a fascinating portrait of Renaissance life.– “Kirkus Reviews”
A vivid window into the origins of child welfare and a colorful portrait of Renaissance Italy.– “Publishers Weekly”
As revolutionary in its mission as it is in its architecture, the Hospital of the Innocents took on one of Florence’s most intractable social problems: an appalling number of abandoned babies, providing the hope of a dignified life to these blameless children of poverty, slavery, and misfortune. Joseph Luzzi’s harrowing, heartfelt book gives these Innocents something else: their own history.–Ingrid Rowland, coauthor of The Collector of Lives: Giorgio Vasari and the Invention of Art
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
This is an extraordinary book: deeply researched, beautifully written, and morally urgent. With clarity and compassion, Joseph Luzzi brings to life the heartbreaking realities faced by Florence’s abandoned children, offering profound insights into Renaissance attitudes toward childhood, honor, and social worth. A work of both scholarship and conscience, it challenges us to reckon with the past–and reminds us why the lives of children have always mattered–Ross King, author of The Bookseller of Florence: The Story of the Manuscripts That Illuminated the Renaissance
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 book Botticelli’s Secret was named a Best Book of the Year by The New Yorker and was shortlisted for the Ralph Waldo Emerson Award. He lives in New York’s Hudson Valley.
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