Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The history of a home for abandoned children is unpacked against the backdrop of the Italian Renaissance in this beguiling study from Luzzi (Botticelli's Secret), a literature professor at Bard. Europe's first institute for unwanted children was founded in the wake of the Black Death, which killed two-thirds of Florentines and cultivated an increased sense of civic responsibility in the surviving populace. Built with money bequeathed by merchant Francesco Datini and designed in ornate style by Filippo Brunelleschi, the Innocenti opened in 1445, accepting 90 children within its first year. Though it was founded on a growing recognition of the need to cultivate in children of all classes "essential human qualities" (including purpose and appreciation for art), the institute was often torn between its mission and the need to remain financially viable, with directors acquiring expensive artworks to elevate its profile (sometimes at the expense of budgets devoted to the children's food) and putting its charges to work. Luzzi takes a compassionate and intimate approach to this history, stitching in memories of how he became a single parent after his wife's death ("Like the Renaissance parents who failed to care for children they abandoned, I too had produced an 'innocent' "), yet he doesn't shy away from documenting the ways in which the institute failed those in its care. It's a vivid window into the origins of child welfare and a colorful portrait of Renaissance Italy. (Nov.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
An eye-opening history of Europe's first orphanage. Italian scholar Luzzi delves into Florence's famous orphanage, the Hospital of the Innocents or Innocenti, which would eventually house, feed, and educate unwanted children. Flourishing Florence felt it had a religious, civic, and financial duty to care for them. In 1348 a young orphan, Francesco Datini, worked hard to become successful, in turn helping Lapo Mazzei, a professional rotary, to make a way for himself. Mazzei wanted to combat childhood misery in Florence. When older, Datini bequeathed a vast sum to the hospital where Mazzei worked, the Santa Maria Nuova, for the sole purpose of providing for abandoned children. The wealthy Silk Weavers Guild decided in 1419 to build a home for foundlings. The architect of the Duomo, Filippo Brunelleschi, created its dazzling portico. The first baby left in its foundling wagon wheel died early; 90 were left the first year, just one legitimate. Luzzi deftly explores what this difference meant socially for children and the fates of enslaved women who had illegitimate babies. Mortality rates among famine babies taken in soared, as did the need for wet nurses. In 1483 Francesco Tesori became the Innocenti's unpaid director. He hired noted artist Domenico Ghirlandaio and others to paint works in the orphanage, thus increasing its notoriety. When Borghini became prior in 1552, he improved the education boys received and sanctioned castration. Some orphans even went on to have artistic careers. When Fra Niccolò Mazzi took over in 1581, he focused on finances while instituting repressive reforms for girls. In the mid-19th century, the numbers of new arrivals were exploding when prior Carlo Michelagnoli established farms to employ boys. A kindergarten was created in 1948, and in 1959 invaluable social workers were hired. Innocenti is now a museum and study center with a nursery school. More than a history of a building--a fascinating portrait of Renaissance life. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
