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"- an. .; ~.4‘ Va 4 C “ W a! -. _ - - a. ' .g, Numpntw":z‘xrs-rr" "' ,--v' ~<—---wfl’“' This is to certify that the thesis entitled THE OSPEDALE DEGLI INNCCENTI AND EARLY RENAISSANCE FLORENCE presented by Sally A. Sullivan has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for Masters mgnmin Histogy of Art aw; ffl Major professor 5/?" / «m 0-7639 MS U is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution RETURNING MATERIALS: 1V1€31_] Place in book drop to LJBRABJES remove this checkout from 5.3:— your record. FINES will be charged if book is returned after the date stamped below. WHNDOS THE OSPEDALE DEGLI INNOCENTI AND EARLY RENAISSANCE FLORENCE BY Sally A. Sullivan A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Department of Art 1982 ABSTRACT THE OSPEDALE DEGLI INNOCENTI AND - EARLY RENAISSANCE FLORENCE BY Sally A. Sullivan Although many studies have addressed the problem of formal design of the Ospedale degli Innocenti, scholars have not attempted to systematically integrate the find— ings of these art-historical studies with the findings of social and political historians of early Renaissance Florence. This study is intended to bring art historical and historical writings to bear on the initial work of Renaissance architecture. The method used includes a study of historical, cultural, and political phenomena peculiar to this period in Florentine history which may have influenced Filippo Brunelleschi's design, especially in the proportions he devised for the loggia of the Ospedale. The study indicates that one of the most important cultural influences on the Ospedale is the Florentine sense of civic pride and obligation together with the tradition of Christian charity, which gave rise to the construction of a carefully designed and monumental structure for Florentine foundlings. DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to those masters of western art whose works continue to inspire my spirit and set fire to my imagination. I also dedicate this study to those whom I have been fortunate enough to meet who are masters in their own right. And finally, to Ruben Dario whose words sum up this passage in my life: Juventud, divino tesoro, i ya te vas para no volver! Cuando quiero llorar, no lloro... y a veces lloro sin querer... Ruben Dario, "Cancion de Otono en Primavera" ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the History of Art faculty at Michigan State for the knowledge, time, and inspiration they have given me. The example set by each of these scholars has urged me to continue with my study of Art History, and for that I will always be indebted to them. As a graduate assistant I must also thank my students whose interest and ideas are greatly responsible for my future plans to teach. I would like to thank Jan Simpson, Curator of the Art Slide Library, for her friendship, knowledge and marvelous sense of humor. Special tribute is due Professor Webster Smith whose fine scholarly manner I will never forget. His knowledge, patience and excellent classes in Italian Renaissance Art are greatly appreciated and fondly remembered. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE LIST OF FIGURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V INTRODUCTION 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 1 CHAPTER ONE DESIGN AND BUILDING HISTORY OF THE LOGGIA OF THE SPEDALE DEGLI INNOCENTI . . . . . . 9 BUILDING HISTORY: 1419 TO 1424 . . . . . 21 TWO THE FOUNDLING PROBLEM AND HOSPITAL PROTOTYPES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 THREE THE HISTORY AND POLITICS OF EARLY RENAISSANCE FLORENCE . . . . . . . . . . . 50 FOUR THE CULTURE AND SOCIETY OF EARLY RENAISSANCE FLORENCE . . . . . . . . . . . 69 FIVE ASPECTS OF HUMANISM . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 SIX BRUNELLESCHI AND THE PIAZZA SS. ANNUNZIATA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 iv LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE PAGE 1 Filippo Brunelleschi. Ospedale degli Innocenti, Florence, 1419. Turned-down architrave cited by Manetti. . . . . . . . . 15 2 Filippo Brunelleschi, Ospedale degli Innocenti, Florence, 1419. Conjectural drawing of original design cited by Charles R. Mack. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l7 3 Filippo Brunelleschi, Ospedale degli Innocenti, Florence, 1419. Reconstructed drawing of the facade as of 1424 (top) and 1427 (lower) cited in Eugenio Battisti . . . 17 4 Filippo Brunelleschi, Ospedale degli Innocenti, Florence, 1419. Conjectural drawing of the original design for the facade cited in Eugenio Battisti . . . . . . 23 5 Ospedale di San Matteo, Florence, 1387. View of the facade . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 6 Michelozzo, Ospedale di San Paolo, Florence, c. 1460. View of the facade . . . 32 7 Filippo Brunelleschi, Ospedale degli Innocenti, Florence, 1419. View inside the Loggia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 8 Ospedale di San Matteo, Florence, 1387. View inside the Loggia . . . . . . . . . . . 34 9 Filippo Brunelleschi, Ospedale degli Innocenti, Florence, 1419. Detail of a capital. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 10 Ospedale di San Matteo, Florence, 1387. Detail of a capital. . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 INTRODUCTION In 1419 Filippo Brunelleschi was given charge of the building of the Spedale degli Innocenti by his own Guild, the Silk Merchants and Gold Smiths. It was to be con- structed in an unorganized space in front of the church of 8.8. Annunziata. As early as 1421 the friars of 8.5. Annunziata requested a subsidy for the completion of the paving of the piazza.l Chapter Six will take up the ques- tion of the relationship of the Inndlenti facade to the design of the piazza. Brunelleschi's name appears on the documents concerning the Inndlenti project from 1419-1424. For the most part, the design of the loggia follows Brunnelleschi's plans whereas the rest of the hospital was finished by his followers after 1425 when he became involved in other projects. Brunelleschi's loggia has been called the first truly Renaissance work in architecture and as such is an important monument to study. This paper will discuss the social and cultural influences which came to bear on Brunelleschi's design for the loggia. lEugenio Battisti, Brunelleschi The Complete Work, trans. by Robert Erich Wolf (London: Thames and Hudson, 1981), p. 348, note 6. The style and design of this facade have been discussed by many scholars. But it still needs to be seen more clearly against the background of early Renaissance Florentine society. The social need for this loggia, no less than it's aesthetic beauty, must be taken into account. Although studies abound on the subject of early Renaissance Florence, a sustained attempt to discuss the first Renais- sance architectural design as a response to the needs of that society has not been made. It is the purpose of this paper to examine the role which Florentine society played in the design of Brunelleschi's loggia, and the social needs which it addressed. The word hospital comes from the Latin word hospes, meaning guest or host. In the medieval period, the func- tion of the hospital was to care for the sick, act as an almshouse, asylum, orphanage, foundling home, and a refuge for pilgrims, travelers or the poor. Christian charity had always called for care of the needy. The rule of St. Benedict advised, for example, that every arriving guest must be welcomed as if he were Christ. The Synod of Aachen, 816-17, requested that bishops have a hospice for the poor and for travelers. Foundling hospitals are first made mention of in the sixth century.1 lNikolaus Pevsner, A History of Building Types, Bollingen Series, The Andrew“w.Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts, No. 19 (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1976), p. 139. It was rare in the medieval period for hOSpitals to specialize in the care of only one kind of people in need - the insane, for example. But in 1419 the Silk Guild of Florence commissioned a hospice to be built especially for foundlings, thus making it one of the earliest instances of a specialized welfare institution.l It is the purpose of this study to identify the factors which gave rise to the creation of the Ospedale degli Innocenti at this particular time in Florence, and which may have had some effect on its design. Although many studies have been written on the early Italian Renaissance, in general, and many on Burnelleschi's design for the Innocenti, scholars have not made a substan- tial effort to integrate these two different kinds of effort, and thereby discern social events and values as playing a role in the design of the loggia. An approach to such an integrated study has been suggested only recently in Eugenio Battisti, Brunelleschi, 1980. The author compiles informa- tion about the building history and the design, and also makes brief comments concerning the probable influence of 15th century Florentine society upon the design. Another recent source which has proved helpful to this study is in Charles Randall Mack's studies concerning lNikolaus Pevsner, A History of Building Types, Bollingen Series, The Andrew w. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts, No. 19 (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1976), p. 149. the original Brunelleschian design for the loggia, as well as his discussion of the relationship of this design to earlier Tuscan hospital types. Frederick Hartt and Peter Marray have been particularly helpful to me for their dis- cussion of Italian Renaissance Architecture, in general. Literature dealing with the historical, political, and cultural aspects of early Renaissance Florence is plentiful. For this study, Richard Trexler's Public Life in Renaissance Florence, (1980) has been especially pertinent, as are other of his studies dealing with the problem of abandonment and infanticide in Florence. E.H. Gombrich's study of the relationship between humanists' concerns with antique literary forms andtflmaparallel developments in architecture during the early years of the 15th century has also proved useful to this study. Gene Brucker's Renaissance Florence, (1969) as well as Lauro Martines', The Social World of the Florentine Humanists, 1390-1460, (1963) have both provided useful information about many aspects of Florentine society. A pulling together of historical with art historical literature on the Italian Renaissance has been the principal means used here to evaluate cultural concerns and their impetus towards the innovations made in architecture by Brunelleschi in his first truly Renaissance design. A study of Florentine society in the early years of the Renaissance often reveals a number of seemingly contra- dictory values. How, for example, could abandonment and infanticide exist in a Christian society? It becomes apparent that the Innocenti was designed to meet a number of requirements. It was to be a hospice for children and a propaganda piece reflective of civic aspirations; a highly organized machine to nourish future citizens, and encourage the growth of the city population. The Innocenti was at once a charitable project, clearly reflecting the Christianity of the Florentine people, and a hospice for illegitimate children of those very citizens who had supported the hospital. Abandoned children of citizens and of their slaves made up a growing population of foundlings. This study will show how a convergence of particular concerns of Florentines of the early 15th century gave impetus to the building of the Innocenti and to the intro- duction of certain refinements into its design. Brunelleschi himself was deeply involved in the politics and society of his city. He was no doubt aware of its problems and aspi- rations. Brunelleschi's design for the Innocenti was a positive response to his milieu, and he must have seen his art as a vehicle of social good. A study of early Renais- sance Florence is necessary to the understanding of the birth of the Renaissance style in architecture. The first Renaissance building was being constructed in a period of re-birth for Florence herself. Brunelleschi was looking at classical precedents, and in a sense, using them to build a new 'image' for Florence. The Innocenti and other of his projects proposed a new urban environment, a rational, organized, and monumental city of the near-future. Panofsky, in writing on the nature of re-births in European culture remarked that one of its characteristics1 seems to be the way in which it destroys and reintegrates on new bases, breaking with tradition in order to go back to it from a brand new stand- point - and this is what produces "rebirths", in the true sense of the term .... So we can say that what can be called the problem of the "rebirth phenomena" is a central problem to the history of European culture. But it seems that however much Brunelleschi was interested in architectural style, and thereby in the use of classical examples, he was equally motivated by the mood and sense of purpose in his society. The civic pride of early Renaissance Florence, and her aspirations to demonstrate her power and ability to take care of her own citizens can clearly be seen in the Innocenti facade. Al- though this facade, especially the loggia, is the primary concern of this thesis, some time will be devoted to a dis- cussion of the interior plan, as well as the piazza in front. These in certain ways, carry and reinforce the same message conveyed by the facade. Brunelleschi's wide arches and the horizontal expanse of his loggia reflect the earthly, city concerns of 1Manfredo Tafuri, Theories and History of Architecture, trans. Giorgio Verrecchia (New York: Harper and Row, 1976), p. 66. Florence at this time. lRather than aspiring upward to merge with the heavens, Brunelleschi's facade wants to reach out to the citizens whom it would serve; its arches have the widest possible spans so as to attract people and draw them inward. The facade was meant to tell people that the city intended to deal with contemporary concerns and that it existed for and because of them. The Innocenti symbolized a new hope for a greater Florence. It may not, indeed, be purely coincidental that the first Renaissance design was used in connection with an actual rebirth on the social level. The abandoned children which this institution took in were to be placed into a highly organized environment. At the Innocenti they would be physically and spiritually nourished as well as given the necessary training to sup- port themselves when they left. Young men were to be ed- ucated in trades and could remain at the Innocenti until they were 18. In a very real sense, the Innocenti was to be a city in itself, and yet in no sense was it to be isolated from the rest of the city. The design of the loggia reflects the positive attitude and intentions of its benefactors. The loggia itself was intended to be of servile. It is very spacious, with room for people to sit on the steps, or take shelter under the arches when necessary. Its beautiful, balanced design was perhaps explicitly intended to inspire a correspondingly peaceful mood in a populace that was not without its divisions and factions. CHAPTER ONE DESIGN AND BUILDING HISTORY OF THE LOGGIA OF THE SPEDALE DEGLI INNOCENTI One of the earliest descriptions of Brunelleschi's design of the loggia of the Innocenti is found in Antonio Manetti's biography of the master.1 The commission to construct the loggia of the Innocenti came from the Guild and University of Porta Santa Maria. This Guild had been given the responsibility of caring for foundlings in 1294 by the Florentine commune. According to Manetti, a plan rather than a wooden model was drawn up, and scaled accord- ing to braccia. He notes that few people understood Brunelleschi's intentions even though he explained them orally to the master builders, the stonecutters, certain citizens, the leaders of the Guild, and to the workers assigned to the project. When after a long absence, he saw how the work on the building had been progressing, he was angry about the divergences from his intentions in many things. One of the operai in particular received most of the blame for having altered the master's design, having 1Antonio di Tuccio Manetti, The Life of Brunelleschi, ed. Howard Saalman, trans. Catherine Engass (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1970). 10 wanted to seem no less an authority than Brunelleschi himself. According to Manetti, 'they' didn't think that Brunelleschi would be displeased, and if he was, they were prepared to justify the end result. The errors in the facade which according to Manetti could be noted by anyone who looked at it were enumerated by Manetti as follows:1 ... the frieze over the loggia arcade; another is in the architrave; another in the two windows and in the small pilasters that were to rise from the (lower) cornice that functions as the sill for the windows up to the (upper) cornice; this (upper) cornice should be where the eaves of the roof are now. There is also a variation from Filippo's proportions in an addition besides the error of the addition itself built on the south side, and appearing on the outside facade of the loggia. Then there is an architrave that turns (a corner) downward and continues to the dado of the building. These lapses are, in short, nothing less than the presumption of the person who had it built in that manner on his own authority. For Manetti, nothing might be added to or subtracted from Brunelleschi's work without increasing costs or detracting from the overall beauty. Certain questions arise from Manetti's description of the building's history. First of all, Manetti was writing after the completion and opening of the Innocenti in the mid-15th century. Saalman observes that Brunelleschi may well have been responsible for the entire plan of the hospital no less than the loggia in front. This may not have been seen by Manetti as worth mentioning since the lIbid., pp. 97-98. ll facade was the only part of the structure which, for a 15th century builder, would require design in the articula— tion of the decorative elements. Saalman notes that the rest of the buildings of the Innocenti complex are of standard form with conventional details used on doors, vault consoles and so on, which were typical of almost all Florentine Stonecutter shops in the 14203. The relationship of the parts were determined by geometrical means.1 In order to understand better Manetti's description of the loggia design, and those elements which diverged from Brunelleschi's original plans, it is necessary, first, to describe the work as it now stands, as well as imagine its originally intended setting. It was planned to be built on one side of a piazza which terminated a newly constructed street, the Via dei Servi, which led from the old church of the Servites to the cathedral, and at that time provided an unobstructed view of the latter. The piazza, of which the Innocenti's facade occupies one side, seems to have been planned from the start as a unified space, and as such was the first of the great squares of modern urban design.2 Standing in this square, an observer would be at eye level with the level of the platform of the loggia. lIbid., p. 142. 2Frederick Hartt, History of Italian Renaissance Art, 2nd ed. (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice—Hall Inc., 1979), p. 150. 12 The loggia itself is made up of a series of nine round arches (the 10th bay was added in 1430) supported on columns with smooth shafts, reminiscent of columns on Florentine Romanesque buildings such as the nave of SS. Apostoli. The ten columns of the portico, their capitals, as well as the wall consoles supporting the transverse arches of the portico, and also four pilasters and capitals were constructed while Brunelleschi was in charge of the project from 1419-1424.1 The capitals themselves are out— growths of the Tuscan Gothic tradition of stone masonry, except that Brunelleschi greatly reduced and simplified their forms. Only in his later designs can there be seen a direct influence of classical prototypes. The Innocenti capitals include a flattened yet rather thick leaf form, cut out clearly against the calathos. This leaf type itself can be seen in much older Tuscan examples such as those which are found in the nave of Fiesole cathedral.2 As at Fiesole the Innocenti capitals also include smooth rounded leaf stalks with three tongue- shaped leaves at the crest where the volutes emerge. There are also large outer spiral volutes, whose form almost sug- gests a derivation from composite capitals, such as those lHoward Saalman, "Brunelleschi: Capital Studies," Art Bulletin 40 (June 1958): 121. 21bid., p. 115. 13 in San Pien in Campo near Pestia. A smaller center volute on the capital seems meant as a simplification of the Corinthian capital. The center volutes correspond to the large outer ones, and certain other extra elements of the Corinthian order such as the abacus blossom are omitted. The object was not to achieve a classically correct and organically functional capital, but to reduce the diverse organic elements of the traditional Corinthian capital to the least number of different forms.1 The column, pilaster and console capitals are of uniform style and quality. The interaxial distance between the columns is exactly ten braccia and the height of the column including base and capital is nine braccia. Each bay encloses a cube of space. Each of these cubes is surmounted by a hemisphere defined by pendentive dome or sail vault. Brunelleschi decided upon a module or basic unit of measurement to determine the main lines of the facade. The module used was ten braccia. This measurement makes up the height of a column from the floor of the loggia to the point where two arches seem to meet over the column, which is just over the impost block. This same measurement also is used for the distance between a column and the building behind, as well as the 11bid., p. 121. 14 intercolumniations, or distance between the center of one column and another. Each bay is ten braccia square, and the width of the doorway is five braccia. The distance between the junction point of the two arches and the bot- tom of the architrave is one-half the height of a column, including capital and base, but not including impost block or plinth. These proportions carry up into the attic area, with its raised cornice and windows. This area is the one in which much of Brunelleschi's original plan was altered, according to Manetti. Besides the downturning architrave by Francesco della Luna, (Figure l) and the imperfection of the frieze, which was supposed to have had roundels, another defect consisted in the elimination of small pilasters which were to have risen from the lower cornice, which functions as the sill for the windows, up to the ' upper cornice, which was never executed. This upper cornice should have been placed where the eaves of the roof are now. According to Charles Mack, the pilasters were to have been placed directly above the arcade columns, thus divid- ing the attic story into a series of window bays corre- sponding to the intercolumniations. This arrangement would have created more of a sense of unity of parts than does the structure as it stands today. Mack questions whether the pilasters were to have been fluted or not, and whether 15 Turned—down architrave cited (Reproduced in Charles R. Mack, Filippo Brunelleschi, Ospedale degli Innocenti, "Brunelleschi's Spedale degli Innocenti Re- 6 3 1 . p 9 l n 4 I 1 o d .1 8 It t et a CE 1 nn H ea C IM .1 O t 1V. r Fb a FIGURE 1 . 16 they were to have occurred singly or in pairs (Figure 2). The use of paired pilasters on a second story was popular in the 14205 and 305, as can be seen on the Brancacci tomb in Naples by Donatello and Michelozzo, as well as Lucca della Robbia's Cantoria. But it seems most likely, Mack concludes, that the pilasters were to be placed singly, and were to separate the window bays. The entire structure of the building, including capitals, seems to be as pared down as much as possible for optimum clarity in the reading of the parts.1 In what exists of the upper story today the proportions are still clear. The distance from the top of the cornice to the base of the architrave is equal to the distance from the base of the architrave to the junc— tion point of the arches. This measurement is used in turn for the width of the main doors and the height of the second-story windows. Half of this measurement makes up the width of the smaller doors and windows. In the spandrels of the arches are the well known Innocents in roundels made by Andrea della Robbia. These were placed there much later, c. 1480, for originally the roundels were most likely intended to remain empty, like the ones which appear in Masaccids fresco of The Trinity in Santa Maria Novella. 1Charles Randall Mack, "A New Look at the Hospital of the Innocents," Southeastern College Art Review 8 (1973):13. 17 >mhhpqwdnmmmmuyflmdkdhdwpfirmfiwfijdnflfifififihumw FIGURE 2. Filippo Brunelleschi Ospedale degli Innocenti, Florence, 1419. Conjectural drawing of original design cited by Charles R. Mack. (Reproduced in Charles R. Mack, "Brunelleschi's Spedale degli Innocenti Rearticulated," p. 145.) FIGURE 3. Filippo Brunelleschi, Ospedale degli Innocenti, Florence, 1419. Reconstructed drawing of the facade as of 1424 (top) and 1427 (lower) cited in Eugenio Battisti. (Reproduced in Eugenio Battisti, Brunelleschi The Complete Work, p. 50- 51.) 18 The use of pendentive domes by Brunelleschi is unprecedented for this time in Florence. Peter Murray points out the square form of these bays and the classic shape achieved by the use of these pendentive domes.1 The loggia is terminated in its lateral extensions by fluted pilasters, examples of which Brunelleschi may have seen in Rome as well as on the Florence Baptistry. Perhaps the pilasters intended to terminate the upper story were to have been fluted also, and the intervening ten pilasters left smooth, so as to help maintain a clear consistency with the lower level. Even a brief summary of the design of the Innocenti facade shows that the architect took special care to create a beautiful, carefully worked-out and harmonious exterior for the building. It seems that Brunelleschi was thinking even of the smallest parts of the design, refining these as much as possible, and always thinking at the same time of the effect of the total design. Although it is not the purpose of this study to deal specifically with interior arrangements of the Innocenti, it is nonetheless interesting to see that a similarly harmonious arrangement of parts was carried out behind the facade. A longitudinal axis runs from the central bay of the portico through the interior, and is balanced by the 1Peter Murray, The Architecture of the‘Italian Renais- sance, (New York: Schocken Books, Inc., 1978), p. 32. 19 long corridors, the porticoed courtyard, the large rooms and service areas.1 Heydenreich notes that the plan of the Innocenti is quickly and easily understood.2 This clarity of course, would have assisted in the smooth functioning of the hospital, in organizing and controlling the large population of foundlings living there. The high degree of organization intended by the hospital administra- tion can be seen to declare itself publicly in the archi- tectural statement of the facade. Eugenio Battisti be- lieves that the interior structure was planned as well by Brunelleschi, although he was away from the project long before its completion. Battisti maintains also that during the period in which the loggia was completed, some kind of work must have been executed or planned for the interior as well:3 ... it does seem highly unlikely that the central Cloister would not have been enclosed by buildings on all sides and that there would have been no plan for at least two symetrical rooms like those at the entrance to have been built at the opposite end of the central axis. The two courtyards below 1Giovanni Fanelli, Brunelleschi, trans. Helene Cassin (Summerfield Press, 1980), p. 46. 2L.H. Heydenreich, Architecture in Italy, 1400-1600, trans. Mary Hottinger (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd., 1974)] p. 70 3Eugenio Battisti, Brunelleschi, trans. Robert Erich Wolf (London: Thames & Hudson Ltd., 1981), p. 66. 20 ground level, needed to give light and air to the large underground rooms, were laid out in relation to a transverse passageway running from the center to the sides, a true internal street with, in a sense, the same axial function as the loggia on the exterior. By way of that central 'crossroads' one could arrive at a second building, itself presumably around a Cloister. From the second door of the loggia one would enter the Cloister, a sort of second piazza. From this Cloister access was provided to the various administrative offices. To either side of the Cloister are two areas of equal size, each with its own door to the loggia: the church and a ward, respectively. The ward provided living quarters for the children and expensive beams from Pratomagno were used in its construction. At the ends of the facade other doors led to stairways to the upper story. Passageways were constructed at ground level which connected with all of the buildings. Large rooms were located under the church and ward which served as refectory and workrooms where the boys were trained in various trades. These rooms were provided with light from two deep court— yards on the side away from the piazza, and were connected to each other by a barrel-vaulted cryptoporticus. The women's Cloister, laid out in 1437, was evidently not in- cluded in Brunelleschi's plan, but is interesting in its way of sharing in the charitable meaning assigned to the ospedale from the start. This Cloister provided an area where mothers could visit their children without being seen. 21 BUILDING HISTORY: 1419 TO 1424 (Figure 3 & 4) According to Eugenio Battisti's study of the Innocenti project, the actual work on the project by Brunelleschi resulted in the laying of foundations, raising the main walls, constructing a cryptoporticus in the basement be- neath the Cloister walls, and construction of the loggia. The extra width of the arches of the loggia, and the extra long unified space were new to Florence. The arches are each about 26 feet high and over 16 feet wide, which is comparable to a two-story house in early 15th century Florence. The city was only then just beginning to plan for straight streets and uniform facades. Originally, the impressive length of the facade was over 233 feet, and this was soon to be extended.1 The Innocenti was a costly project resulting in an expenditure of 2,809 Florins, 12,268 Lire and l Quattrino between 1419 and June of 1427. Although common materials were used throughout most of the structure, the elements of articulation were difficult and time consuming in execu- tion. The usual Florentine building would have straight and flat dressed stone or plastered fronts. At the Innocenti elegant distinctions are made between the weight- bearing structures - such as pilasters, columns, arches - 1Eugenio Battisti, Brunelleschi, p. 46. FIGURE 4. FIGURE 5. 22 Filippo Brunelleschi, Ospedale degli Innocenti, Florence, 1419. Conjectural drawing of the original design for the facade cited in Eugenio Battisti. (Reproduced in Eugenio Battisti, Brunelleschi The Complete Work, p. 54.) Ospedale di San Matteo, Florence, 1387. View of the facade. (Reproduced in Alfredo Barbacci, "Cronache d'Arte: La loggia di San Matteo a Firenze e la Sua Liberazione," p. 65.) 23 24 and the architraves separating the stories and dividing up the wall surfaces. The weight-bearing structures are finely rendered, although the pietra serena from which they are carved is an inexpensive material. The walls appear as plain, undifferentiated surfaces, divided into geometri- cal fields. Here and there a short-cut was used: certain arches between the vaulting bays in the loggia are painted to look like real stone. Eugenio Battisti points out that anyone who was. technically minded at this time could only marvel at how such broad arches could, from the beginning, exist without tie-rods. There were ties inserted into the domical vaults of the loggia, but this proved to be difficult since the first vault soon came apart. In addition to these innova- tions, another was in Brunelleschi's use of drawings done to scale, more exact than a wooden model could be, but requiring that Brunelleschi be present as much as possible to explain them to the builders. The usual method of con- structing arches involved knowing only the height of the columns and the width of their intercolumniations. Brunelleschi would appear to have made up exceptionally detailed instructions so that the work might be carried on properly by others when he was away. Battisti recounts an incident in which Brunelleschi had been called away to Pistoia and one of the workers had to be sent from the project to find out what the master had in mind for the 25 roundels between the arches. Brunelleschi advised that they be placed between the curves of the arches and the archi- trave, and to be concave in the manner of shells. The only type of decoration was to be the coat of arms of the spon- sors, the Silk Guild.1 In addition to the usual stones acquired from the river, other hewn stones were called for. Each of these hewn stones was to be of the same, regular shape and site. Models in wood or clay were needed in order to produce such stones. Brunelleschi, often called away on other projects, used drawings and models of details to explain how to mount and fit the stones together. Although not always correctly executed, the stonecutters made relatively few errors. The year 1424 is the latest date according to the project documents, which Battisti has summarized, on which Brunelleschi was still supervising the work in person. At this time, the arcade and its nine bays were completed and the vaults were under construction (in July 1424 Brunelleschi was in Pistoia and had to be called back for advice on the vaulting construction). The steps in front of the loggia were not yet built. The foundations of the loggia were finished and were made up of pyramidal stone 11bid. 2Ibid., Note 3, p. 344-347. 26 piers beneath the columns with smooth stones from the bed of the Mungone between them. Openings had been made for five large doors and ten windows, but five of the latter were blocked off some years after. By 1427 Brunelleschi's name disappears from the documents, and is replaced by that of Francesco della Luna, which recurs in the documents until 1430. By 1427 the ground plan was of a U-shape, made up of facade, church (on the left) and ward (on the right). The facade, by now, included ten columns, four pilasters with two at each end, ten roundels in the spandrels between arches, architrave and cornice 122 braccia long, three large doors within the loggia, a door at each end at piazza level, and two small doors at the ends of the loggia. The church was roofed, and the walls of the ward had been built. The foundation of the central Cloister had been constructed but not the Cloister itself. The vaults of the loggia were covered by a rough temporary roof (with wooden frame, gutter tiles and flat tiles) which was supported by 26 slender brick pilasters in masonry on the side of the eaves (in all 38 braccia long and % braccia wide) and a further 31 pilasters on the opposite side. The frames of all the doors and windows had been made between April 30th and May 4th, 1426. The stairs, which consisted of nine steps, had been con- structed by 1427 from the south end to beyond the door of 27 the ward.1 It was not until 1439 that the area of the facade above the loggia was completed. The windows were included, but not the pilasters which Brunelleschi wanted. In 1430 the facade was extended to the south, and by 1457 the steps in front of the loggia were completed. Thus by 1488, when Manetti was writing his Life of Brunelleschi, the building was essentially completed with a number of changes having taken place. Manetti had at his disposal a drawing of the loggia by Brunelleschi which was in the meeting hall of the consuls of the Silk Guild. The person Manetti accuses of tampering with the original plans of Brunelleschi is identified by Billi, Saalman and others as Fancesco della Luna. It is interesting to examine the part which della Luna played in the Innocenti project, for it tells us something about the workings of Florentine society in the early years of the Renaissance. That Francesco della Luna should have been responsible for such adjustments reflects the very public and corporate nature of the Innocenti project. It was after all the Silk Guild which was paying for the work, and della Luna seems to have been a prominent member of this body. Vasari makes certain telling observations on the nature of citizen lIbid., p. 50. 28 involvement in artistic projects. In his discussion of Brunelleschi's plans for the dome of Florence cathedral Vasari remarks:2 He might easily have shown them a small model which he had secretly made, but he would not do so, knowing imperfect intelligence of the Syndics, the envy of the artists, and the in- stability of the citizens, who favoured now one and now another, as each chanced to please them. And I do not wonder at this, because everyone in Florence professes to know as much of these matters, as do the most experienced masters, although there are very few who really understand them;... Della Luna's name appears in the Innocenti building documents beginning in 1427. It was during his tenure as one of the operaio that the second story of the facade was completed. Because of his involvement or intervention in the project, it would be interesting to see what kind of a man della Luna was. The early history of the della Luna family is unclear, but the house probably descended from an old country family.2 In the mid-14th century the della Luna family became members of the Guild of Doctors and Druggists. They were also successful spice merchants, lGiorgio Vasari, Lives of Seventy of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors and Architects, Vol. 1, ed. E.H. and E.W. Blashfield and A.A. Hopkins (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1926), p. 263-264. 2Lauro Martines, The Social World of the Florentine Humanists 1390-1460, (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1963), p. 341-42. 29 and soon became involved in the business of silk, wool, finance and banking. In the first years of the 15th century their wealth was comparable to the Medici, Strozzi and Alberti. The della Luna lived in the Santa Maria Novella quarter along with the Strozzi. In Creighton Gilbert's study "The Earliest Guide to Florentine Architecture" new evidence has been brought to light to further define della Luna's role in the Innocenti project. From a collection of writings by Gregorio Dati, a Florentine statesman and humanist, it can be seen that Francesco della Luna was actually involved in the Innocenti project as early as its inception in 1419-20.1 Dati was gonfaloniere from 1428-29 and prior in 1425; he also served several times as director of the Silk Guild, was director of the Guild in 1419 and, like the other directors, was also an Operaio or building commissioner of the Innocenti project. Other directors included Francesco della Luna. It was presumably these operai who were responsible for choosing Brunelleschi as the architect for the Innocenti. Francesco della Luna, although involved in the project even before Brunelleschi, was very likely not an architect, but probably did help in the selection of Brunelleschi. lCreighton Gilbert, "The Earliest Guide to Florentine Architecture, 1423," Mitteilungen Des Kunsthistorischen Institutes in Florenz (June 1969): 37. CHAPTER TWO THE FOUNDLING PROBLEM AND HOSPITAL PROTOTYPES The Innocenti was intended from the start to be a carefully worked out and refined building. Its beautiful design was to stand as a tribute to a powerful Florence and a prosperous Silk Guild. In comparison with earlier hospital designs, the Innocenti included many new and grander elements in its articulation. Brunelleschi's use of a loggia on the facade was probably derived from late medieval hospitals in Tuscany and especially Florence. The Florentine hospital of San Bonifazio on the Via San Gallo, founded in 1377 by Bonifazio Lupi da Parma, may have had as many as ten bays on its facade, and would seem to have compared in breadth with the later Innocenti. The Florentine hospital of San Matteo also had a loggia, begun in 1387 and finished in 1402 (Figure 5). The design of San Matteo's loggia was modeled after that of San Bonifazio. Charles Mack points out that loggias of this type seem to have become standard by around 1400. This type of public architectural statement for the Tuscan hospital then became incorporated into Brunelleschi's new design for the Innocenti, which in turn was to be a model for later structures. The 30 31 facade was to serve as the model for the loggia of the Spedale di San Paolo in Florence, begun around 1460 by Michelozzo (Figure 6).1 As a child Brunelleschi lived on the Piazza San Marco across from the loggia of San Matteo. This loggia displays the motif of an arcade carried on columns, yet its appear- ance is much less open because of the use of a rather high base upon which the columns stand, and which runs the whole length of the portico (Figures 7 & 8). A comparison of the capitals of San Matteo with those of the Innocenti show that the latter are much more detailed (Figures 9 & 10).2 The capitals used at the San Matteo loggia are much simpler in design using two rows of rather thick acanthus leaves, while those at the Innocenti use carefully carved out leaf forms and graceful spiral volutes at the top.3 Peter Murray has referred to the hospital at Lastra a Signa as a possible example for Brunelleschi. The hospital at Lastra was also in fact sponsored by the Silk Guild. But, scholars are not in agreement on the date of its con- struction. The loggia dates from after 1411; Howard Saalman 1Charles Randall Mack, "Brunelleschi's Spedale degli Innocenti Re-articulated," Architectura 2 (1981): 130, Note 7. 2Alfredo Barbacci, "Cronache d'Arte: La Loggia di San Mateo A Firenze e la Sua Liberazione," Bollettino d'Arte 32 (1938): 66. 3Ibid., p. 69. 32 _/'. - _ . . ..'..VZlel.’/z'.hr,”,v/u/.n'ul n' | 1 A ..n n.‘. ..Ii‘. ... . W -. _ . ._, . ! sun-Innil-Innllni-IIIJI'll "II'III ill.) . .. 3",: , ~1372fi" r; “r- ,1 g , , \ ‘ \ ~. I . i ‘i ...-- .. L -. .q .. m [Egg-u: _ "it... FIGURE 6. Michelozzo, Ospedale di San Paolo, Florence, c. 1460. View of the facade. (Reproduced in R. Goldthwaite and W. Rearick, "Michelozzo and the Ospedale di San Paolo in Florence," p. 221.) 33 FIGURE 7. Filippo Brunelleschi, Ospedale degli Innocenti, Florence, 1419. View inside the Loggia. (Reproduced in Eugenio Battisti, Brunelleschi The Complete Work, p. 59.) 34 FIGURE 8. Ospedale di San Matteo, Florence, 1387. View inside the Loggia. (Reproduced in Alfredo Barbacci, "Cronache d'Arte: La loggia di San Matteo a Firenze c 1a su Liberazione," p. 66.) FIGURE 9 . 35 Filippo Brunelleschi, Ospedale degli Innocenti, Florence, 1419. Detail of a capital. (Re- produced in Eugenio Battisti, Brunelleschi The Complete Work, p. 66.) 36 FIGURE 10. Ospedale di San Matteo, Florence, 1387. Detail of a capital. (Reproduced in Alfredo Barbacci, "Cronache d'Arte: La Loggia di San Matteo a Firenze c la sua Liberazione, p. 69.) 37 would place it between 1416 and 1422. Charles Mack notes that a model or drawing of this loggia could have been seen by Brunelleschi. An important point is made by Eugenio Battisti on the matter of looking for possible earlier examples that Brunelleschi may have known. The Innocenti was intended to be more than just a hospital, incorporating living areas, administrative offices, and space for the education of adolescents in various arts and crafts. The various earlier loggias might well be seen as possible models for Brunelleschi, but their porticos do not stretch beyond seven bays for the most part. Brunelleschi's design not only included more bays (nine in its original form), but also more overall space in the very wide arches, and steps in front. The need for a long loggia in front of a hospital was related to its function and services. There was a need to protect the entrance and to provide access to a variety of separate areas, and in its design could be expanded lateral- ly, if the need arose for more space, which did occur at the Innocenti. The Innocenti was an orphanage which also func- tioned as a small city in itself, carefully built and administered by an able bureaucracy. Eugenio Battisti points out that the loggia of the Innocenti is monumental in both size and effect, going beyond 38 what was called for in terms of practical functions. In fact, Battisti says1 It became nothing less than a symbol, one expressing above all the high social position of those who commissioned and administered the institution. The monumental and carefully designed loggia as well as the highly organized function of the Innocenti can be said to have consciously reflected the type of society in which the building was conceived. As a machine or a well constituted republic, each part was intended to fulfill its function clearly and without interfering with the others. On a practical level the Innocenti was meant to help preserve the city of Florence itself, whose population was declining: 90,000 in 1338, 76,000 in 1347, 54,747 in 1380, and 37,225 in 1427.2 The careful workmanship and new, monumental proportions for the Innocenti bring to mind questions about the population it was intended to serve. There was in fact a substantial foundling population in Florence and the surrounding countryside during this period. The Innocenti was of course, not the first hospital in Florence to serve the needs of orphans. Problems of abandon- ment, infanticide, plaque and various social upheavals were present througout the Middle Ages. In 787, during the Carolingian period, the first foundling hospital was 1Eugenio Battisti, Brunelleschi, p. 46-47. 2 Ibid. 39 established in Milan, because "...there were as many infanticides as there were infants born out of wedlock."1 In the 12th century, P0pe Innocent the Third founded the hospital of Santo Spirito in Rome because he claimed that so many women were throwing their children into the Tiber. On May 19th, 1274 the General Council of the Florentine commune assigned the responsibility for the care of abandoned children to the Silk Guild. At first this Guild took care of Florentine foundlings through the opening of the hospital of Santa Maria da San Gallo. This was established after a communal commission petitioned the government in 1294. The commission called it:2 ...utile and necessary to the salvation of the souls of the persons of the city and contado in Florence, and of the whole province of Tuscany... to avoid the many crimes which were committed against infants, and also to sustain the poor... In 1316 the hospital of Santa Maria della Scala was established in Florence, founded by private donations. Both San Gallo and La Scala took in foundlings as well as the poor. The Silk Guild also took care of its duties to the foundlings through La Scala. In this same period, similar activities were being carried on at La Misericordia. Here, however, lost or abandoned children were left and then sent to one of the hospitals unless retrieved by their parents. Santa Maria Nuova was another large public hospital 1Richard Trexler, "Infanticide in Florence: New Sources and First Results," History of Childhood Quarterly 1 (Summer, 1973): 99 21bid., p. 100. 40 in Florence, founded in 1286, by Folio Portinari, near the cathedral. It began with only 12 beds, but received support thereafter through gifts and donations. In the 13th century, it was sponsored by the Parte Guelfa.1 But by the early 15th century the power of the Parte Guelfa had greatly diminished and the Silk Guild had become quite powerful. The presence of foundling hospitals in the city was seen as important to the well-being of the Republic. Richard Trexler quotes one 15th century observer as saying:2 If we were to confess the truth, one can absolutely say that (the foundling home of the Innocenti and the hospital of Santa Maria Nuova) have been and are two firm and solid columns maintaining this sublime Republic and its liberty. By the early Quattrocento, the number of orphaned children had outgrown the space provided for them at the aforemen- tioned Florentine hospitals. The commune of Florence in conjunction with the Silk Guild planned to build a hospice especially for orphans. At La Scala alone during the course of the 14th century, the number of children residing there had greatly increased. In 1319 the Florentine citizens were becoming increasingly more devoted to La Scala so that by 1396 no less than 150 nursing infants resided there.3 In 1Eve Borsook, The Companion Guide to Florence, (London: William Collins & Sons & Co. Ltd., 1973), p. 210. 2Richard Trexler, "The Foundlings of Florence, 1395- 1455," History of Childhood Quarterly 1 (Fall, 1973): 259. 3Ibid., p. 264. 41 1395, San Gallo and La Scala petitioned the government for more aid. As more physical space became available, so did more orphaned children to fill the spaces. Only three years after the Opening of the Innocenti, 260 of the children there had to be assigned to wet nurses, and new orphans were coming in each day. Most of the children who came to these asylums were from the residences of particular Florentine citizens, according to Richard Trexler, although those who brought the infants were of course often reluctant to give specific information. It was usually stated that the child had been found in front of a shOp, upon an altar, or at the door of a country hospital. The Innocenti was located just at the edge of the suburbs, a convenient place for country dwellers or visitors to the city to leave children. Apparently, it seldom happened that a child was simply left in some lonely spot to die. The foundling homes were looked upon as providing a future for those children whose parents could not keep them, and these numbers increased during periods of war and famine.1 Most of the people who brought children to the foundling homes identified themselves as servants or friends of the parents, and although the mother's name might be given, the father's rarely was. Also, the porters of 1Ibid., p. 265. 42 these children didn't mind being seen; once the Innocenti was opened, more than half of the children were left by day. A grate was installed at the Innocenti which limited the size of the infants who could be left there by night, although many were simply left by the grate rather than forced through it. One could argue that Brunelleschi's facade played an important role in making it actually easy to abandon a child. The calming effect of the harmonious design, together with the reassuring width of the arches may have helped to relieve many a conscience. The majority of the children who were left at foundling homes were girls, probably because boys had a better chance of being taken into the homes of citizens in cases where the mother was a slave and the father a citizen and head of the household. The children were generally in good physical condition, and were usually accompanied by a note which told of the parents grief at having to give it up.1 In fact, giving a child to an asylum would assure its spiritual well-being. According to the church, unbaptized innocents who died could not enter into heaven. Baptisms were expensive. If an infant was left wearing a tiny sack of salt about its neck, then a baptism had already been performed. Usually, however, foundlings were baptized immediately upon entering the Innocenti. 11bid., p. 279. 43 Specific reasons for abandonment can be gathered from various records of the asylums, and are discussed by Trexler. The children of female slaves were in most cases automatical- ly abandoned. Children whose fathers were priests or friars were also left at homes, and strict secrecy concerning such abandonments was kept by the hospital staff. Fear of scan- dal seemed to be a principal reason for abandonment, as one note sent with a child to the Innocenti points out:1 Although I am poor, poverty or diffidence at being able to feed him is not the principal reason for sending him. Rather it is in the main the fear of scandal which could follow if such a thing were known. And to flee this I have turned to Your Prudence... It is interesting to note that Trexler, in his research, encountered no letters from mothers. But as noted above in Chapter One, an inner courtyard for women was in fact constructed at the Innocenti in the 14305, after Brunelleschi had left the project, thus providing a place where women visitors, presumably mothers, could have privacy. Trexler's research into the problem of foundlings in Florence reveals that infanticide was prevalent in the 14th and 15th centuries. Actual statistics supporting the inci- dence of infanticide may be misleading. In many cases a parent would confess to a parish priest, and his identity might then possibly be revealed to authorities. Suffocation was often cited as the cause of the child's death, and lIbid., p. 272. 44 parents were often required to go to Florence to undergo public humiliation, which would then be followed by the granting of absolution for the sin. Wet nurses as well might be found guilty of suffocating or abandoning a child, in some cases their own offspring, in order to be able to take in more foundlings.1 The wet nurses, to whom found- lings were given for care, were regulated by the commune. By 1344 the commune had taken over the supervision of wages and contracts for wet nurses. But until the opening of the Innocenti in the mid-15th century there was really no acceptable way to judge their performance. The problem of abandonment and infanticide was compounded by the presence of a substantial slave population in Florence as well as other Italian cities. Slaves had no way of supporting illegitimate children. The institu- tion of slavery in Florence contributed to the necessity for the establishment of the Innocenti. In her study of slavery in Florence, Iris Origo describes the importation of slaves into Tuscany from the Black Sea and Africa in the 14th and 15th centuries. Slaves were to be found in rich and middle class homes as well as the residences of priests. Every wealthy patri- cian might have at least three slaves; and a middle class shopkeeper, one. In the mid-14th century domestic slavery 1Richard Trexler, "Infanticide in Florence: New Sources and First Results," p. 103. 45 began to flourish in Florentine households because of the development of Italian trade in the East and also the short- age of laborers after the Black Death of 1348.1 It was thought that the plague came to the Italian coast in a ship that carried silk and spice. In a decree of 1363 the Priors of Florence permitted the importation of foreign slaves of either sex, the only stipulation being that they be infidels (and not Christians). Among the various problems involved in slave trade was the incidence of pregnancy. As soon as a female slave was found to be pregnant, her value immediately decreased, un- less the owner was sure that it was his child, in which case he did not want to sell his own flesh. In fact it was remarkable if a female slave arrived in Tuscany from one of the Italian ports without being pregnant. Being pregnant she could then be sold at a reduced price in Genoa, Venice or Pisa to Tuscan buyers, and then be registered in the books of the city to which she was taken. The slaves would be baptized as soon as they arrived in Tuscany. The situation was confusing for custom permitted the keeping of a baptized slave, but only on the condition that the owner not sell him. But this promise, which an owner might make to a priest, was not always abided by. 1Iris Origo, "The Domestic Enemy: The Eastern Slaves in Tuscany in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries," Speculum 30 (July, 1955): 324. 46 According to the registers listing slaves sold in Florence between July 1366 and March 1397, a large number were female; 329 were women or little girls and the remain- ing 28 slaves were boys mostly under 16.1 Francesco Datini, who donated a great deal of money to the Innocenti, as well as founding a hospital for the poor in Prato, participated in the slave trade. In 1394 Datini paid nearly sixty florins for a slave girl of eight or ten, and only sixteen florins for a horse which be bought at the same time. Later, he was to pay sixty-eight florins for a white damask gown for his illegitimate daughter's wedding. For Datini, then, a good slave was worth nearly three times as much as a horse, but less than his daughter's best gown.2 Female slaves were often kept as concubines, and letters record the jealousy of wives and the belief that these slave women were immoral by nature. When a child was born of a Florentine man and his mistress it might be brought up in the owner's house with the rest of his child- ren. If, however, the mother was a slave, the legal status of the child became a problem, as did the legal status of children born of parents who were both slaves. According to the law, children born of slaves did not belong to their parents, for marriage between slaves was not recognized. The child of such a union became the prOperty of the lIbid., p. 336. 21bid., p. 337. 47 slave-owner. If a slave-owner wished to adopt a child from the union between himself and a slave, he could do so, although the law required that the slave remain in his household. This often caused problems, and sometimes the slave was separated from her child and sent away. Francesco Datini demonstrated more virtuous behavior, for when he was old, he adopted the daughter he had by one of his slaves. He also found a husband for his slave- mistress and left her a legacy of 200 lire. There was also the problem of another man, than the owner, impregnating a slave, for this would involve a ques- tion of property. The violator was often required to pay a fine to compensate for the slave's lowered value. In Florence the violator paid the full price of the slave if she died in childbirth or one third of the price if she deteriorated physically as a result of the pregnancy.1 The violator was also required to pay the cost of the child's birth. By 1452, however, the situation had become more serious, and more severe punishments were levied to deter liasons between men and slaves of another owner. Given the problem of illegitimate children born of slaves in Florence, the Innocenti can be seen as a social necessity; not only as a performance of Christian duty, but as a solution to an embarrassing problem experienced by many prominent Florentine citizens. Iris Origo points out:2 11bid., p. 345. 21bid., p. 346-347. 48 The universal generosity towards the Foundling Hospital, in particular, may perhaps at least been prompted by self-interest for sooner or later the institution was likely to be useful... of 7,534 children registered in the ninety years covered by the books of the Spedale degli Innocenti and that of San Gallo (1395 to 1485), 1,096 (i.e., fourteen percent) are specifically mentioned as having slave mothers, while this may well also have been true of others whose parentage is not specified. In one instance a slave woman gave five and one half denari to the Innocenti "For the love of God, in charity, so that she may find her child again."1 It is important to note that according to the record books of the Innocenti, children were brought there from the houses of the Adimari, Bardi, Capponi, Cerretani, Medici, Della Stufa, Pitti, Rucellai, Ridolfi, Salviati, Strozzi, Tornabuoni and Vespucci. The parents are listed as slaves, or slaves and free-servants; usually the mother would be a slave and the father a son or master of the house. Once the foundling had been left at the Innocenti, he or she would be considered, regardless of the status of the parents, as free and legitimate because the hospital was seen as their free and legitimate father. Some of the boys became priests, one of whom, Roberto Antinori, was appointed a canon of Florence cathedral and Prior of the Innocenti. Some of the children were apprenticed or sent 1Ibid. 49 out to farms, others were adopted into households. In any case, nearly all of the children of slaves entered into the free population of Florence. The Innocenti, then, would be viewed particularly by the slave population as a safe haven for their children no less than a means of their children's eventual entry into Florentine society. The dignified design of the loggia as a whole, and the wide-openness of the arches indicated an acceptance even of these children by the city, no less than of any others. CHAPTER THREE THE HISTORY AND POLITICS OF EARLY RENAISSANCE FLORENCE It is necessary to consider still other aspects of the history of Florence in order to sense the kind of atmosphere in which Brunelleschi was working. When he made his design for the Innocenti. The political situation in early Renaissance Florence was to have some bearing on the conception and design of this building. The Guilds and their individual members participated in the city govern- ment; Brunelleschi himself, of the Silk Guild, was active in Florentine politics. He was not only aware of the needs of the city, but used his political connections to help realize many of his projects. This chapter on Florentine society points out the participation of Florentines especially in the early 15th century in civic pride, obligations, and concerns. Any work of architecture envisioned during the early years of the Renaissance undoubt- edly had some political and civic purpose. Medieval Florentines showed a strong desire to band together into associations and to invest these with corpor- ate structures. Constitutions were drafted to specify the 50 51 rights and duties of membership, and oaths of loyalty were taken. The associations provided security in an often troubled age and they were often used to solve conflicts among their individual members. As Florence became increas- ingly prosperous and populated, new associations arose to satisfy a variety of needs. The ordinary citizen of Dante's time would have belonged to several associations: a guild, a confraternity, the Parte Guelfa, as well as the commune.1 The commune was a combination of all of these collectives. From 1293 on, in order to participate in governmental affairs, one had to be enrolled in at least one of the city's twenty-one guilds. The executive branch of the government, was the Signoria, comprised of nine priors who held office for two months only. The Signoria conducted the daily affairs of the city. On important matters they consulted the sixteen gonfalonieri and twelve buonuomini. On legislative matters they were obliged to pass proposals through two councils made up of several hundred citizens, the Consiglio del Popolo and the Consiglio del Commune. Florence was not a democracy and at no time was more than a small proportion of its population effectively engaged in 2 government. 1Gene Brucker, The Civic World of Early Renaissangg Florence, (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1977), p. 15. 2George Holmes, The Florentine Enlightenment, 1400-50, (Liverpool: C. Tinling & Co. Ltd.), p. 44. 52 A strong sense of equality pervaded the Florentine corporate bodies; members of a guild, political society (parte) or militia company (gonfalone) all held equal rights, privileges and obligations to the society as a whole. This system of reciprocal rights and duties engen- dered a brotherhood so to speak, among all men regardless of social or economic status or personal qualities. The bureaucracy governing Florence in the early years of the Renaissance was complex and the guilds were important participants in it. Members of the twenty-one guilds were the only men eligible to hold offices, and of the 5,000 to 6,000 guild members only about one third of them attained office. These men were chosen by a commission called the accoppiatori, which voted on the qualifications of those men nominated for an office. Those deemed eligible by two thirds majority of the vote had their names put into a bag from which names of office-holders were drawn by lot. Many citizens were thus able to hold office and some con- tinuity was provided by knowledgeable senior statesmen and permanent civil servants.1 Special executive commissions called balie could also be appointed to act as a war department, levy forced loans, or perform other official duties. These balie tended to become more important after 1300. 1Gene Brucker, Renaissance Florence, (New York: John Wiley & Sons Inc., 1969), p. 34. 53 The Council of the Popolo and the Council of the Commune, whose members totaled around 500, served six month terms reviewing legislative policies submitted to them by the Signoria. Although they could not initiate legislation, they could accept or reject it. The oligarchical regime which followed the Ciompi revolt in 1382 lasted until 1434 when Cosimo de'Medici gained power. It was this regime, then, an oligarchy made up of generally conservative patricians, which was in power during the initiation of the Innocenti project. During this period artisans and shopkeepers in the lower guilds were still allowed to hold two seats in each Signoria, but careful and complex controls were established to make sure that men loyal to the regime were chosen, and that communal offices were held only by men of status and substance in the community. These men or their fathers had to have paid taxes for over 30 years. The regime was initially fearful and watchful, yet not on the whole ex- tremely authoritarian, and did tolerate some expressions of discontent. The poor within the city walls were rather heavily taxed, but the main fact of this regime was its stability and its maintenance of order. It was able to gain support from most citizens even among the disenfran- chised groups, who felt a basic loyalty to the republic of Florence. Artisans and shopkeepers really held only token positions in the bureaucracy, yet had the sense of belonging 54 to the establishment. In general, it was only the outlying areas of the recently annexed territories of Pisa, Cortona and Arezzo who did not feel a loyalty to the regime or the republic for that matter. In the early 15th century the regime was aware of the general needs of the commune. Gene Brucker writes:1 To a degree rarely achieved in other cities or in earlier regimes, the Florentine government of the late fourteenth and early fifteenth century maintained that delicate and tenuous balance between individual and collective needs, between private interest and public welfare which is the basis of effective politics. From his analysis of Florentine tax payments in 1403 and 1427, Lauro Martines concluded that banking and commerce were always dangerous endeavors, or at best risky. Even investors in landed wealth had to manage their affairs carefully for political vendetta and fiscal discrimination were the ruin of many wealthy families.v However, by the same token, political favor could be a commercial asset such that it was also possible to amass a fortune in a relatively short period of time.2 Gene Brucker quotes Giovanni Gavalcanti; a 15th century merchant who noted the Florentine trait of gaining power through the acquisition of more territory or business activity.3 1Ibid., p. 138. 2Lauro Martines, The Social World of the Florentine Humansits 1390-1460, p. 352. 3Gene Brucker, The Civic World of Early Renaissance Florence, p. 426. 55 The great citizens are always eager for new enterprises... because they gain more wealth and a prolongation of life, in that they enjoy more fame and authority. Actually, the motives underlying Florentine political behavior in the early decades of the 15th century were complex. Concerns with personal and political aggrandize- ment were often hidden under the guise of concern for the honor and reputation of the republic as a whole. Security and prosperity were greatly valued. There were also enclaves of aristocratic families which sought to dominate the commune. The aristocrats in the latter part of the trecento were defined by their lofty ancestry and blood, no less than wealth. This elite saw the guildsmen as new men who had only recently come to Florence from the contado or from the mass of urban poor. Many guildsmen were well off and the majority enjoyed a comfortable existence. Their connection to a guild re- sulted in a certain status and security. Artisans and merchants made up the majority of the guild community and strongly distinguished themselves from the aristocrats. Donato velluti in 1370 and Giovanni Morelli in 1444 exempli- fied their ideal of the citizen as a competent businessman who could enlarge his patrimony without taking too many risks, in order to be able to provide for his heirs. Sobri- ety, honesty, prudence, loyalty, and devotion to family were seen as the most important popolano virtues. 56 Infidelity, extravagance and immoderation were the gravest flaws which one could have.1 The guildsmen could be censorious of the aristocrats. Sumptuary legislation was sporadically enforced which limited public display of family wealth in terms of dress, wedding celebrations, and Observances for the dead. Guild membership held certain recognized distinctions, however, and lower guildsmen were prohibited from holding offices of standard-bearer of justice, vicariates, or captaincies. Basically, two qualities were taken into account by the Signoria in choosing citizens for eligibility to public office: family origins and social status. In 15th century Florence, public documents, chronicles, diaries and letters stated certain common beliefs about social status. These writings call attention to four main desiderata: hornorably acquired wealth,a substantial record of service in public office, descent from an old Florentine family and bonds of marriage with another family of some political and economic consequence.2 The more one could lay claim to such attributes, the better his social standing. Participation in public life was deemed especially important in the 14th and 15th centuries in Florence, but lIbid., p. 35. 2Lauro Martines, The Social World of the Florentine Humanists 1390-1460, p. 18. 57 in the latter century, it became increasingly difficult to enter into. In the 13803 and 13903 the quest for office grew ever more intense, and in the early 15th century it became a major consideration for many. The older mercantile and banking families of the late 13th century had come into increasing conflict with the newer rich sprouting up in the mid-14th century. Both groups became increasingly interested in holding public office. The older merchant families tended to believe that upper levels of government were reserved for them alone. The status of a citizen came to be calculated as much from the degree of his involvement in political affairs as from his lineage.1 A successful political figure was frequently in the limelight and his actions were closely watched. Generally, ruling families tended to maintain key political posts, and these posts became increasingly coveted so that by 1390, and from then on, office holding became crucial to the achievement of high social standing. Florentine families became one of the most binding forces in Renaissance society. Joint properties, businesses, common political interests and obligations all played a part in a family circle of supporters. Relatives, friends and neighbors would supplement the family as a focus of loyalty. Consorteria is a word often found in documents 1Gene Brucker, Renaissance Florence, p. 45. 58 from the 11th century onward in Florence. It refers to a group of kinsmen who trace their descent in the male line from a common ancestor.1 Although pOpular communal legis- lation in the late 13th century onward sought to break down the old noble families, consorterie continued to exist well into the 14th and 15th centuries. The anti- magnate laws in Florence were designed to undo a particular family or group of families. Many of those men who enacted legislation against the magnates were themselves members of consorterie. Thus during the Renaissance, a person would owe loyalty and have certain obligations to a number of individuals in his household and lineage group. Close personal and economic ties also went hand in hand. Manetti begins his biography of Brunelleschi with a note on the architect's birth and ancestry and the respect- ability of his family background, which were of course important to Manetti as a 15th century Florentine to mention. Manetti notes the paternal grandfather and great-great- grandfather of Brunelleschi, both of whom were good and honorable people.2 Brunelleschi's mother "... was of the well-known and productive Spini family."3 Brunelleschi's 1Francis William Kent, Household and Lineage in Renaissance Florence The Family Life of the Capponi, Ginari, and Ruccellai, (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1977), p. 6. 2Antonio di Tuccio Manetti, The Life of Brunelleschi, p. 36. 3 Ibid. 59 family was notable for its civic responsibilities. Brunelleschi's father was "... industrious, prudent, and a good man of affairs." He looked after the affairs of soldiers and dealt with the captains and condottiere of his time, "... and for the most important especially."1 Brunelleschi's relatives on the Spini and Aldobrandini side (his mother's side), "... customarily appeared in the 2 In the early 15th century, chief dignities of the city." Messer Cristofano Spini was one of the foremost advisors in the executive councils. With his elevated family back- ground, one can imagine that Brunelleschi may have pressed this advantage in order to win approval for his projects and further his career. As might be expected from his family background, Brunelleschi was an active participant in Florentine politics; his political activities in themselves practically constituted an entire career. He was amember of Florentine civic councils twenty-two times between 1400 and 1432.3 His political experience and connections were not doubt helpful on those occasions when he had to convince patrons to accept new structural ideas such as the dome for Florence cathedral. 11bid. 2Lauro Martines, The Social World of the Florentine Humanists 1390-1460, p. 44. 3Diane Finiello Zervas, "Filippo Brunelleschi's Political Career," Burlington Magazine CXXI (October, 1979): 630. 60 When considering the ample span of the arches for the Innocenti loggia, one suspects that Brunelleschi may have had to convince, or reassure a certain number of citizens on that occasion as well. Brunelleschi was Prior of the Signoria from May to June in 1425. He and other members of his father's family, the Lippi, appeared on scrutiny lists for the Tre Maggiori Uffici (composed of the Signoria, with its eight priori and gonfaloniere della giustizia, and its two colleges; the Sedici gonfalonieri and didici buonuomini) in 1391, 1393, 1398 and 1411. Ser Brunellesco Lippi served as a notary for the signoria in 1400. The evidence suggests that Brunelleschi's family was active in the reggimento, or outer circle of the Florentine government. Curiously, Brunelleschi was absent from the city councils during certain periods between 1400 and 1432. These absences may have been due to his frequent visits to Rome, of which Manetti speaks. During this period from 1400 to 1432, Brunelleschi was a member of three different councils; the Consiglio del Commune, the Consiglio del Popolo and the Consiglio del Dugento. The first two coun- cils passed or rejected legislation from the Signoria, and a proposal had to be passed by both of these to become law. Members of the Tre Maggiori elected the council members as well. A citizen could not sit on both of these 61 Consiglios at the same time. The Consiglio del Popolo met from February to May, June to September, and October to January. The Consiglio del Commune met from January to April, May to August and September to December. The Consiglio del Dugento could be held along with any one of the other two Consiglios. The Dugento dealt with military affairs and alliances. The term of this Consiglio was April to September and October to March. Once again, members were elected from Borse. The Dugento was one of a series of four councils which all had to be in agreement before a particular law could be enacted. It becomes obvious that Brunelleschi's political activities coincided smoothly with his periods of involvement in civic and artistic commissions. "Undoubtedly," Zervas writes, "Brunelleschi's growing fame and his immense tech- nical expertise would have made him a valued member of civic councils in the 1420's."1 What specifically was the nature of Brunelleschi's political involvement during the Innocenti project? From 1405 to 1418 his name was absent from the election lists, even though his presence is documented in Florence during 1406, 1411, 1415, and 1417 for advise and work on the duomo. In September 1418 his career was about to take a giant step forward. In this year Brunelleschi's name was drawn for the Dodici Buonuomini, one of the Tre Maggiori, but he was found lIbid., p. 639. 62 ineligible because his tax payments were not in order. But, as he was a major contender in the cupola competition, he cleared his name as quickly as possible and was able to begin a six month term on the Consiglio del Dugento. During this period, he was becoming well known to the Operai del Duomo, who were members of the Arte della Lana; many of these individuals were, besides, involved in the reggimento. After 1418 Brunelleschi seems to have become a steady participant in political affairs, just as he was involved in major architectural projects during this period. After the Arte della Seta began the Innocenti project, and placed Brunelleschi in charge, he held a seat on the Consiglio del Dugento from October to March 1420.1 In 1421 Brunelleschi sat on the Consiglio del Commune from January to April, for the first time since 1405. He was absent from a meeting during this period because he was 'otherwise occupied', presumably on one or more of the architectural projects that had been initiated as of that moment: the cupola, the Innocenti, the Old Sacristy at San Lorenzo and the project for the basilica itself. Brunelleschi was also elected to the Consiglio del Dugento from October 1421 to March 1422. From June to September 1424 Brunelleschi sat on the Consiglio del Popolo, during the war with Milan. He was absent for one meeting during this period because he was in Pistoia, perhaps at 11bid., p. 634. 63 work on the Spedale del Ceppo. At the same time that Brunelleschi's name appears on the building documents of the Innocenti he was very active in civic affairs. As has been previously pointed out, political connections evidently helped his career in general, and his individual projects in particular. At the very least, his considerable involve- ment in city affairs must have enhanced his awareness of civic problems and needs to which the Innocenti project was explicitly addressed. Brunelleschi must have been well aware of the existence and growing number of foundlings in the city, especially because of his membership in the Silk Guild. Marvin Becker notes how in the early years of the Renaissance private concerns were becoming increasingly tied to the well being of the city as a whole. Public concern could be a means to attain honor. In terms of Brunelleschi's works Becker says: If poetry and painting were the high points of late medieval Florence, then architecture was reigning sovereign of early quattrocento. The lure and invitation prefered by a Brunelleschi or Alberti was to find one's humanity in the world of the polis.1 It is interesting to see that in comparison to his earlier career, Brunelleschi participated much less in councils after 1430. He fell from the good graces of the reggimento after his ill fated attempt to flood Lucca in 1430. Brunelleschi did continue to serve the republic as 1Marvin B. Becker, Florence in Transition, Studies in the Rise of the Territorial State, Vol. 2 (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1968), p. 247. 64 a military and civic architect however, and seems to have enjoyed a rather secure position, such that he no longer needed to seek political office to acquire commissions. Before ending this discussion of the history and political situation of early Renaissance Florence, mention should be made of certain threats against Florentine secur- ity from outside enemies. By the late 14th century, a greater focus on centralized authority in city bereaucracy had come to supplant the earlier emphasis on allegiance to separate parties and organizations. Becker points out that "Whole groups of prophecies composed in the seventies and eighties made the polis an object of religous veneration."1 The power of Florence began to be emphasized with increas- ing conviction. Becker notes that:3 ... under Florentine leadership Italy will be renewed and peace and libertas assured; later, Florence, the "new great city" and "daughter of Rome," would work to heal the dread schism; soon the "bella citta" will extend her rule over her neighbors, bringing happiness and libertas to those opposing the Lombard Visconti of Milan. As a citizen active in Florentine politics, Brunelleschi would have been well aware of these feelings, and it is worthwhile to discuss some of the trials which Florence had faced in the recent past, and over which she had triumphed. 11bid., p. 202. 2Ibid., p. 202-203. 65 One of the greatest threats to the Florentine oligarchy in the last decade of the 14th century was that of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, lord of Milan, who had extended his control of Lombardy as far as the Apennines. As he approached Florence, a war between the two began in 1390 and continued sporadically over a period of twelve years. In June of 1402 Galeazzo had pressed alarmingly close to the city, but then, by a stroke of fate, died of the plague. This long lasting Milanese threat thus abruptly ended. Florence could resume her business affairs and extend her control over other territories as well. Florence was able to gain control of Arezzo, and Pisa by 1406, through purchase.1 The Florentine oligarchy was united in their joy over the acquisition of Pisa and its territory. This conquest added greatly to Florence's re- sources, as it now had access to the sea. In 1408 a threat arose from the king of Naples, Ladislaus. The new struggle to keep her independence took the form of secret cloak and dagger maneuverings. Florence planned to support the Duke of Anjou as being the rightful holder of Ladislaus' title as king of Naples. The Florentines were once again rescued from this threat by what seemed like divine intervention, when the king suddenly died in 1414. The ensuing rare interval of peace 1Merdinand Schevill, Medieval and Renaissance Florence, Vol. I (New York: Harper & Row, 1963), p. 347. 66 lasted for eight years, ending in 1422 when Duke Filippo Maria, Gian Galeazzo's heir, revived his father's expansion- ist goals, which he continued to pursue until 1428. The Innocenti was constructed and the land purchased, on the very periphery of the city, during a time of relative peace. Knowing that the citizens of Florence were on the whole supportive of expansionist ideas, can we not also assume that the individual guilds were themselves expansion- ist: in building up their power and influence through acquiring additional land and influence for themselves. To find an answer to this question, more information on the nature of the guilds is necessary. In 1293 twenty-one guilds had gained political recognition, and each of these gradually took on a more composite character.1 For example, the Physicians Guild and the Guild of the Apothecaries eventually included the retail merchants, the saddlers, the purse makers, and the painters. The guild system was actually complex. There were gradations of importance among the greater guilds no less than the lesser guilds. A look at Florentine economic history shows that its ruling element was not the seven great guilds as such, but rather the two wool guilds, the Calimala and the Lana, as well as the Bankers Guild and, later, when the silk industry developed, the Por Santa Maria. It was substantially in these three guilds that 11bid., p. 306. 67 wealth and influence were centered, and the merchants who guided the fortunes of the city. Within the context of the control of the masters in the textile guilds. Within the Florentine Republic itself, these great guilds came to constitute micro-republics on the economic level. Of course, the members of Por Santa Maria, the Silk Guild, like the Florentines in general, were crafty and business-minded enough not to add to their power blatantly. By sponsoring a charitable organization such as the Innocenti they could add to their prestige no less than gain increased loyalty from workers who might themselves benefit from the hospital's services. One wonders if the Innocenti was intended in part to provide a base around which other Silk-Guild-sponsored monuments and buildings might be constructed in the near future. That such an intention was in fact not realized might be explained by the renewal of fighting in the 203 and the subsequent rise to power of Cosimo de Medici. The dedication of the ‘ Innocenti to Mary is in itself a reference, to be expected, to the Silk Guild or Por Santa Maria. By means of the dedication alone the Spedale di Santa Maria degli Innocenti would be readily identified with the guild which financed its building. Moreover, the Innocenti was established where the highest concentration of textile workers lived. Thus the Innocenti could be seen as a kind of stronghold of the Silk Guild and a reminder of their power, in worker 68 dominated territory, but at the same time an act of good will towards the same workers. The grand loggia, larger than necessary for its function, more beautiful than any other loggia that had ever been seen, could be interpreted by Florentines of the time as a symbol of Florence itself, no less than the powerful Silk Guild. As Florentines began to see their city more and more as a kind of new Rome, buildings might then consciously reflect this expectation, and might be appreciated for any features they might have that looked "alla romanesca". The prosperous and civic-minded Silk Guild selected one of its own members to design the work. Brunelleschi, himself seemingly involved in a campaign of acquiring political power, if only for the sake of his work as an architect, was a suitable choice. His eligibility for such a position of responsibility was confirmed by his family background together with his previous participation in civic affairs. The facade of the Innocenti speaks on behalf of the Republic no less than Por Santa Maria, and addresses itself to all citizens, rich and poor. CHAPTER FOUR THE CULTURE AND SOCIETY OF EARLY RENAISSANCE FLORENCE A description of Florence in the early 15th century and a characterization of the values of Florentine citizens in that period are needed to help convey a sense of how the Innocenti was responded to in its own time. The clas- sical features in the design of the Innocenti can be seen as reflections of the Florentine interest at the time in their classical past. Antiquity had not been lost sight of in the Middle Ages, but in the early 15th century in Florence there was a new sharpness of focus on the classical period of Italian history combined with a new intensity of civic pride and concern. The use of a classical vocabulary for the Innocenti had new meanings for the Florentine of the early 15th cen- tury. The greatness of the city and illustrious past could be read in to such a design, as well as the need of Floren- tines to become active in building and taking care of their city. As a work of architecture, the Innocenti meant to declare itself as reaching out to the Florentines and responding to their needs. It espoused the human concerns 69 70 of the Republic, just as the efforts of some humanist writers of the time were directed toward the public good. Writing on the years after Ladislaus' death, Giovanni Rucellai recalled the period as one of peace and prosper- ity. But this was not entirely the case. The populace was angry with the rich, who themselves were experiencing con- flict and intrigues amongst themselves. In 1417 a new out- break of plaque killed as many as 150 people per day from April until the following January.1 A debate was held in June of 1417 to discuss the crisis condition involving the poor who were unemployed, hungry and struck down by the plague. The plague struck the countryside and the city lowering the population and disrupting the rural economy, itself already despressed. In the June 1417 debate, Antonio Alessandri recommended that foreign troops be recruited to guard the city from the possibility of revolt by the poor. Barely two years before the start of construction on the Innocenti, the republic had decided, in a time of renewed danger, to conserve public funds in order to give alms to artisans, "... who in these times have earned little or nothing for their labors".2 In order to provide this money, a prohibition was placed on religious offerings to churches, monasteries and hospitals. The plague no doubt caused an increase in the number of orphaned children. As has been 1Gene Brucker, The Civic World of Early Renaissance Florence, p. 401. 2 Ibid. 71 previously noted, many of the poorest workers were employed by the textile industry, so actually the Silk Guild was addressing a problem very close to home. It is noteworthy that the Innocenti was constructed on the edge of the city and therefore accessible to the countryside, where the populace was greatly suffering. Poor economic conditions actually continued, for in 1420 a poor harvest had created famine conditions which lasted into the spring and summer of 1421. But the bankers and the silk industry prospered during these years. There was an increased demand for velvets and brocades in EurOpean and Levantine markets. The sectors of Florentine society hardest hit were agriculture and the wool manufacturing industry, which employed the largest number of workers.1 In these times, the Innocenti offered hope to the poor and stood as a symbol to the Florentines of the stability and future prosperity of the city. It also no doubt helped to quell the anger of poor workers. One of the most interesting elements of Florentine city life was in fact the social and economic heterogeneity in each district and neighborhood. No sections of the city were inhabited only by rich or poor. In each district was to be found a conglomeration of palaces, cloth factories, retail shops, parish church and monastic foundation.2 11bid., p. 402. 2Gene Brucker, Renaissance Florence, p. 23. 72 Traditionally, an important family was associated with a certain neighborhood. Each area contained a number of poor people especially around its outer edges. This was where many cloth workers, servants and laborers lived. The location of the Innocenti towards the outskirts of the town would seem logical in view of the fact that depressed economic conditions often give rise to an increase in the number of abandoned children from the laboring classes. After the Black Death the Florentine commune involved itself in developing plans for urban improvements, the cathedral project and the beautification of the Piazza della Signoria. But they were interested equally in adding beauty to their city as a whole. Brucker quotes a Sienese proclamation of 1309 which seems to describe this kind of concern:1 Those who are charged with the government of the city should pay particular attention to its beautification. An important and essential ingredient of a civilized community is a park or meadow for the pleasure of both citizens and foreigners. Since the 14th century the beautification of Florence, too had been an important objective. It is worthwhile to observe any work of architecture in its contemporary environment, for this also reveals much about design no less than function. Sights, smells and sounds as well as the kinds of people who carry out 1Ibid., p. 27. 73 daily activities in the surrounding space all contribute to the character of a building. There is no doubt a psychological factor to consider in terms of how often the building is seen and used by the citizens. It could be argued that the Innocenti with its harmonious proportions, balanced design and wide, accepting arches had a calming effect. Its distance from the street was achieved by its elevation and stairs in front. This combined with the shelter of its arched loggia, provided a sense of security, and a haven from street activities. Of particular interest in this respect, are the comments by Alberti in his treatice on architecture on the value of porticoes to a city:1 It is certain, one of the greatest Ornaments either of a Square, or a Crossway, is a handsome Portico, under which the old Men may spend the Heat of the Day, or be mutually serviceable to each other; besides that the Presence of the Fathers may deter and restrain the Youth, who are sporting and diverting themselves in the other Part of the Place, from the Mischievous folly natural to their age. It is interesting that the portico is seen by Alberti as a place which because of its design is conducive to peace- ful and harmonious behavior, even of youngsters. It is, tempting to imagine that it was Brunelleschi's portico at the Innocenti which influenced Alberti's views, and Brunelleschi's arches may well have reinforced Alberti's 1Leone Battista Alberti, Ten Books on Architecture, Book 8, Chapt. 4, trans. James Leoni, ed. Joseph Rykwert (London: Alec Tiranti Ltd., 1955), p. 173. 74 admiration of the arch as a special type of architectural form: "Nothing," he says, "can be a greater Ornament either to Squares or the meeting of several Streets, than Arches at the Entrance of the Streets; an Arch being indeed nothing else but a gate standing continually open."1 For Floren- tines of the early 15th century and for years after, the Innocenti with its wide-open arches, provided a welcoming place for all: a protected space for conversation, a shel- ter from inclement weather, and as Alberti seems to imply, a safer haven than the streets. On hot days the loggia of the Innocenti would have offered cool relief to citizens as well as shelter from rain, and also some refuge from smells because of its elevation above street level. Religious festivals in the city were frequent and often celebrated with processions. Other special events included the pomp and ceremony accorded to special visitors such as a papal envoy or the entry of a mercenary captain. The beautiful and stately design of the Innocenti facade offered a suitable backdrop for such occasions. Foreigners and important visitors should have been greatly impressed by it. Also, in times of unrest and disorder this imposing scenery may have proved beneficial. The calming effect of the harmonious design, as well as the protection from the hot sun afforded by the loggia, may have on some occasions acted as a deterent against violence. The orderly and 11bid., p. 174. 75 protective loggia provided a setting for and perhaps even some kind of benevolent influence on the diverse, energetic and sometimes anxious crowds of people who conducted many vital activities outside. The period in which the Innocenti was built was not always peaceful; one recalls the discus- sions of citizens in 1417 in which fear over the possibil- ities of revolt was expressed. In general Florentine traditions were Christian, mercantile and communal. Religious beliefs were strong and instilled from early childhood. Children were taught the traditional Christian virtues of love, charity, humility, and poverty.1 Pride, avarice, gluttony, and lechery were preached against, and humility praised. But Florence as a wealthy mercantile center, also recognized the potential conflict between business sense and the upholding of old virtues. A resolution to this potential conflict between worldly and spiritual concerns could be seen, on the other hand, in the fulfillment of civic ideals and obligations. The Florentine chancellor Leonardo Bruni talked about the positive value of wealth. Wealth, he wrote, was to the city as blood was to the individual.2 The prosperity, the worldly success, of cloth merchants and manufacturers, among others, could create problems of 1Gene Brucker, Renaissance Florence, p. 101. 2Marvin B. Becker, Florence in Transition, Vol. 1, p. 241. 76 Christian conscience. The sermons of friars pointed out the problems created by wealth. One of the most often quoted and fear-inducing passages against the acquisition of riches on earth occurs in Matthew:1 Jesus said to his disciples, I tell you this: a rich man will find it hard to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. I repeat, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the King- dom of God... The conflict between wealth and Christian virtues was present for 15th century Florentines. Brucker notes that every Florentine felt some guilt for living in a society whose material existence conflicted sharply with its spiritual ideal.2 There were several individual ways of dealing with this guilt, and one of the more popular ways to relieve one's conscience was to make large bequests to charitable foundations. Vespasiano di Bisticci described the guilt which Cosimo de'Medici felt from having gained some of his wealth at the expense of others. Brucker makes the point that this was one of Cosimo's reasons for rebuild— ing the monastery of San Marco and that, furthermore, many artistic creations of Medieval and Renaissance Florence were the result in part of guilty consciences of the rich. Such feelings of guilt were prevalent, but could be compen- sated for by acts of charity, of which the financing of the 1Matthew 19:23—25 (NEB). 2Gene Brucker, Renaissance Florence, p. 107. 77 construction of the Innocenti is a conspicuous instance. Such an act as this of charity could compensate for many a misdeed. The rising wealth of the silk merchants could have given rise to feelings of individual and collective guilt intense enough to demand a remedy. Alberti's treatise on happiness points this out in a passage where he discusses the response of Florentines to the slaves in their city:1 Our religious heritage demands a sense of responsibility, and our ancient self-restraint has trained us to be humane and forbearing as masters. By the early 15th century the state had assumed an increasing amount of control and regulation of works of charity, and in order to manage this most effectively, called upon the guilds and fraternal organizations, artist and merchant corporations as well as the religious con— fraternities to minister to the poor. Ministering to the poor and needy reflected a concern for the community as a whole. A healthy and satisfied populace could be the hope and the instrument through which Florence would flourish. The corporate nature of charities really set up a kind of extended family in which kinsmen were all taken care of. 1Renee Neu Watkins, ed., trans., Humanism and Liberty Writings on Freedom from Fifteenth-Century Florence, (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1978), p. 103. 78 The idea of caritas or charity according to Marvin Becker was:1 ... transvalued into a generalized conception of philanthropy. An enduring monument to this new concern were the frescos of the Brancacci Chapel, where the young Masaccio depicted a radically new sense of Christian community. The Apostles were ordinary men performing simple acts of charity in the city streets... This phenomenon of lay piety in the early Renaissance provides an important social influence upon the design of the Innocenti. The design of the Innocenti seems in many respects to be a very secular one, calling to mind such works as the loggia dei Lanzi; itself articulated by wide arches and elevated from street level. Individual dona- tions to private charities, such as Francesco Datini's provisions for his hospital in Prato demonstrate ample proof of the suspicious feelings toward ecclesiastic control of such works. Datini asked that his hospital:2 ... should be and remain a kind of charitable center, granary, and private house, and not religious, in no way subject to the church or ecclesiastical offices or ecclesiastical prelates or any other ecclesiastical person, so that it can in no way be reduced to something else but will remain always for the poor and wholly for the use of the poor of Jesus Christ and their nourishing and perpetual support. 1Marvin B. Becker, "Aspects of Lay Piety in Early Renaissance Florence," The Pursuit of Holiness in Late Medieval and Renaissance Religion, Vol. 10, ed. Charles Trinkaus and Heiko A. Oberman (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1974), p. 186. 2Eugenio Battisti, Brunelleschi, p. 48. 79 The Florentines were a religious and charitable people from early on in their history and Becker points out the charitable concerns of Tuscans in the later middle ages, from the eleventh through fourteenth centuries. Hospitals and alms houses proliferated throughout Tuscany, and the reduction of human suffering was seen as a human no less divine concern. Hospitals, leproseries, and xenodochia were constructed along the growing network of roads in Tuscany. Becker notes that:1 In the principal cities of Tuscany - Arezzo, Lucca, Pisa, Florence, and Siena - hospital construction was to become a growth industry. ... service in these institutions was to be a spiritual activity singularly appealing to the middling and upper echelons of lay society. Giovanni Villani's chronicle of the city of Florence from 1336-38 made note of the many hospitals which had a thousand beds for the care of the poor, sick, and infirm. These and other acts of charity were, of course, not enough in them- selves to prevent spiritual as well as social disturbances. Certain fanatical groups arose prior to 1400 although after this date were scarce. One of these, the Fraticelli, was led by radical Franciscans. VOws of poverty were strictly adhered to and its members came primarily from among the cloth workers and the city's slums. Many citizens were hostile to this group, particularly those sympathetic to the 1Marvin B. Becker, Medieval Italy, Constraints and Creativity, (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1981), p. 101. 80 papacy and the Parte Guelfa. It was felt that the Fraticelli were dangerous elements who could undermine Florentine social and political order. In regards to the Innocenti project, it is noteworthy that the Innocenti was constructed in an area where many of the poor cloth workers lived. Considering that this period was one of economic hardship for the cloth workers once again, one wonders if political stability may have been a motive in the Innocenti's construction. After 1400 there were fewer heretical groups and fewer saints were canonized. Demonstrations of religious zeal came to be organized along different lines, especially in the direction of lay piety and charitable acts. Since the 13th century, groups of clergy and laymen regularly met in chapels or monasteries to sing hymns at vespers, indulge in self flagellation and especially to perform acts of charity. Charitable acts were particularly favored by those societies which were functioning after 1419 when a law was passed which dissolved all confraternities and permitted a few to reorganize with the consent of the Signoria.1 Two of the most important of these reconstituted societies were the fraternity of the Misericordia which tended to the sick, the indigent and homeless children, and the compagnia di S. Maria del Bigallo, which also cared for orphans and 1Brucker, Renaissance Florence, p. 208. 81 foundlings. In this regard, it can be observed that the Silk Guild was engaging in a pOpular kind of charitable activity, yet was in a sense, surpassing all previous efforts in charity by constructing such a large and beauti- ful building as the Innocenti in which to carry on such work. The society of Sante Maria della Pieta, founded in 1410, had as its primary activity the performance of various charitable activities as well. Every weekend members gave bread and wine to poor citizens of the city. In the early Renaissance, members of the confraternities were for the most part concerned with performing charitable deeds. In the North during this period, religious expression tended to focus upon the inner spiritual life of the individual and his or her private relation to God. In Florence by contrast, religious activity tended to gear itself toward corporate and public expression. Certain passages in the New Testament point directly to the spiritual benefits from acts of charity including those towards children. In several passages, Christ advises men specifically to care for children and described the elevated nature of this kind of charitable work. In one in- stance, Christ "took a child, set him in front of them [the apostles], and put his arm around him. 'Whoever receives one of these children in my name,‘ he said, 'receives me; 82 and whoever receives me, receives not me but the one whoa sent me.'"1 In another instance, the apostles had attempted to keep the children from bothering Christ; but he said to them,2 Let the children come to me; do not try to stop them; for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these. And he laid his hands on the children, and went his way. Such passages could have been invested with special, even topical meaning by Florentines of the early 15th century, the time of the Innocenti project. One recalls here the comment made by Vasari concerning Brunelleschi as a kind of new St. Paul, and his interest in the Scriptures:3 Thus labouring perpetually, Brunelleschi next turned his attention to the scriptures, and never failed to be present at the disputations and preachings of learned men... Messer Paolo, alluding to him, was accustomed to say that, to hear Filippo in argument, one might fancy oneself listening to a second Paul. In summary, it can be seen that the peculiar character of Florentine society in the early Renaissance seems to have exerted an influence upon the conception and design of the Innocenti. As a building in the city, it symbol- ized the prosperity of the city no less than the Silk Guild. lMark 9:33-37. 2Matthew 19:13-15. 3Giorgio Vasari, Lives of Seventy of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors and Architects, p. 250. 83 It can also be seen as a prOpaganda piece for citizens and visitors alike, extolling the virtues of Florence as a great city, indeed, a new Rome. The loggia of the Innocenti served the citizens as a shelter from the streets just as the republic acted as a shelter or home to each of her citizens. The Innocenti reflects the Christian beliefs of Florentines, and more particularly the phenomenon of lay piety in the early Renaissance. The Innocenti is a monument to civic charity, pride, and obligation. CHAPTER FIVE ASPECTS OF HUMANISM Humanist writings in the early years of the Renaissance seem to emphasize civic pride and obligations as well as a return to the use of antique styles in literature and the arts. In general humanist ideas helped to instill Floren- tines with a sense of pride and duty into Florentine citi- zens for their city. The design of the Innocenti facade can be seen to reflect both of these attitudes: the civic and the cultural. From about 1380 to 1450 a central theme in Florentine cultural history was the emergence of classical antiquity as the major source, focus and inspiration of intellectual life. A humanistic education would include grammar, rhetoric, poetry, history and moral philosophy. There was as well a great enthusiasm for Latin and Greek classical literature. Groups of men would form to discuss antique writings and classical texts with a broader knowledge of ancient Greek and Roman civilization resulting. Classical interests broadened from the literary sources to architecture, sculpture, music, mathematics and the physical sciences. 84 85 According to Hans Baron, the beginnings of civic humanism have certain ties to this classical enthusiasm. Around 1400 the threat of Giangaleazzo Visconti helped to fortify the unity of the Florentines in their support and commitment to the city. The humanists became the lead- ing spokespersons of these values and in so doing developed a new interpretation of Florentine history, stressing its Roman antiquity, beginning with its foundling by the Roman general Marius. These humanists proposed the value of civic acts and duty based on classical ideals. Participation in public affairs, and the idea of the active life of merchants and statesmen was advocated rather than the more private, contemplative life. The writings of the humanist Leonardo Bruni in the early years of the 15th century pointed out the importance of active civic participation in Florence no less than in ancient Rome, and that furthermore it was their respective secular achievements which helped to ensure their existence. Florentines looked to their past and the Roman past to set up a standard for emulation and reference. In their war with Ladislaus for example, Filippo Corsini recall events from the Punic Wars to help decide the present policy toward the crisis. After 1400 humanist studies became increasingly important and related to an active life in the city. Accord- ing to Manetti, Brunelleschi lived as a boy in a time when 86 few persons among those who did not expect to become doctors, lawyers or priests were given literary training. This was to change however, and Brunelleschi was most certainly caught up in the wave of new and exciting possi- bilities and view of life. In 1420, Giovanni Morelli, a merchant, described a typical agenda for his son's academic pursuits; the reading of Virgil, Boethius, Seneca, Dante, Cicero, Aristotle and the Bible.1 According to Ernst Gombrich, the Renaissance was the work of the humanists, who were neither theologians nor physicians but concentrated, rather, on the humanities, grammar, dialectic and rhetoric.2 Cecil Clough has written an apt summary of the interests of these humanists, and the influence of their writings upon the Italian Renaissance.3 The Italian Renaissance can be summed up as the cultural consequence of an idea, the search for Antiquity-Classical Greece and Rome-in all its aspects. The cult of Antiquity grew (and changed as it did so) from the idea of one man, Petrarch (1304-78), spreading by way of disciples, notably Boccaccio, to Florence and thence to the courts of Italy. Its chronological phases in broad terms 1Brucker, Renaissance Florence, p. 230. 2Ernst H. Gombrich, "From the Revival of Letters to the Reform of the Arts," Essays in the History of Art Presented to Rudolf Wittkower, ed. Douglas Fraser, Howard Hibbard and Milton J. Lewine (London: Phaidon Press, 1967), p. 71. 3Cecil Clough, "The Cult of Antiquity: Letters and Letter Collections," Cultural Aspects of the Italian Renais- sance, Essays in Honour of Paul Oskar Kristeller, Cecil Clough ed. (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1976), p. 34. 87 are: 1350 to 1400, when Petrarch and his disciples had the idea almost exclusively; 1400-1450, when the citizens of Florence ab— sorbed it... The Scholars who subscribed to the cult of Antiquity can be called humanists, and what they practiced 'humanism'. The humanist environment in Florence in the Early years of the Renaissance was closely linked with that of the Florentine upper class. The humanist's view of the city is exemplified by Leonardo Bruni in a letter of 1405, to Salutati. In this year he was at the papal court at Viterbo, and shortly after leaving Florence, had fallen ill. In the letter he says,1 ... I thought and I still think that you are blessed to live in Florence where nothing is lacking to live well. When I was there I lived in the greatest happiness and tranquility of mind both because of the amenity of the city and because of the polished manner of my ac- quaintances... they are devoted to the study of human letters which seems to have deserted all other cities like shabby houses and betaken itself to our Florence as to some shrine of the muses, some choice dwelling. There is no place in the world to compare with the splendour of Florence or the urbanity of the Florentines. But not only these cultural amenities but also the city's responses to the political events at the end of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th centuries gave rise to the humanists' proud view of Florence. The Florentines were both able to resist threats to their freedom and expand their control over other territories. These kinds of events 1George Holmes, The Florentine Enlightenment 1400-50, (Liverpool: C. Tinling & Co. Ltd., 1969), p. 38. 88 led to a strong feeling of republicanism. Florence's struggles in these years encouraged humanists in their professional role as propagandists and, in their role as connoisseurs of literature, to extol a republican political philoSOphy.1 The humanists also saw themselves as distinctly superior in certain respects over old-fashioned scholars. They possessed a certain glamour and a self-confidence that carried everything before it, even though it was at first based on certain narrow foundations.2 Gombrich quotes Ruskin's view that the humanists suddenly discovered that the world had been existing in an ungrammatical state for ten centuries and they henceforth made it the end of human existence to be grammatical. The early Florentine humanist Niccolo Nicoli (1350-1437) was devoted to the study of classical texts, and his biographer, Vespasiano, stated that Niccolo was the reviver of Greek and Latin letters in Florence, more so than Petrarch, Dante and Boccaccio. Niccolo's taste was in fact so critical that he was never able to satisfy himself, and therefore never published anything. Niccolo thought that a single letter by Cicero or one poem by vergil was far better than all the 'scribblings' of men such as Petrarch and Boccaccio taken together. lIbid., p. 48. 2Ernst H. Gombrich, "From the Revival of Letters to the Reform of the Arts," p. 71. 89 While Niccolo was fastidious in his desire to study what the ancients had written and taught, rather than the writings of the great Florentine poets, other humanists did not entirely share his view. Guarino and Leonardo Bruni complained about his arrogance and his concern with finicky externals of manuscripts and with mere spelling as opposed to meaning.1 In 1400 Cino Rinuccini complained about the empty and stupid discussions of a 'gang of prattlers', and that furthermore:2 To appear very erudite in the eyes of the vulgar they shout in the piazza how many dipthongs the ancients had and why today only two are in use... and how many feet the ancients used in their verses and why today the anapest is used... but the meaning, the distinction, the significance of words... they make no effort to learn. Niccolo was interested in breaking with the immediate past in order to restore the higher standards of antiquity. Often he was quite correct in his criticisms, for the spell- ing of Latin had been corrupted in the Middle Ages. Unlike the "civic" humanist Leonardo Bruni, Niccolo is seen as lacking in patriotism. Gombrich notes that this is not entirely true, for Niccolo often did hold public office. In point of fact, his emphasis on form was an asset to the success of the humanist movement and helped to establish the superiority of those who espoused it, without cutting at the root of their beliefs. In this regard, Gombrich 1Ibid., p. 74. 21bid. 90 notes that it is not surprising that it was in this circle and at that moment of time that the direct transfer occurred from a literary concern and attitude to a change in visual styles.1 Niccolo was interested in the lettera antica, used before the arrival of a Gothic script, the type which is now called Carolingian Minuscule. It has been shown by scholars how closely 15th century manuscripts are modelled on 12th century examples in their scripts and initials. It can clearly be seen that there is a parallel between the spread of this literary style and the new kind of design found in the architecture of Brunelleschi; with the Innocenti in particular as the first instance of it. Brunelleschi's supposed disdain for the Gothic manner of building and his preference for the antique style is actually derived less from a study of Roman ruins than from Tuscan Romanesque examples, which he probably saw as being of greater antiquity and hence of more authority than in fact they were. This parallel between a changeixlliterary style and a change in architectural style would have been recognized in the early 15th century. Ghiberti noted that as proportion was impor- tant to the depiction of the human figure, so were well shaped letters to writing. Visible aspects of lettering such as order, size and shape all helped to bring harmony 11bid., p. 76. 91 to the whole. Certainly this is a quality which has come to be associated with the aims of Brunelleschi's buildings and is exemplified in the Innocenti. The close connection of the new literary emphasis on the antique, as reflected in Romanesque forms,with parallel innovations in the architecture of Brunelleschi, seems highly probable in view of Niccolo's interests in things architectural. Guarino writes about Niccolo:1 Who could help bursting with laughter when this man, in order to appear also to expound the laws of architecture, bares his arm and probes ancient buildings, surveys the walls, diligently explains the ruins and half-collapsed vaults of destroyed cities, how many steps there were in the ruined theatre, how many columns either lie dispersed in the square or still stand erect, how many feet the basis is wide, how high the point of the obelisque rises. One is well reminded of the same kind of intense interest which Brunelleschi had in ancient architecture and his travels to Rome. Other humanist writings also demonstrate an interest in antiquities, and Salutati goes so far as to point out specific Roman monuments still extant in 15th century Florence. He points out the existence of a Capital, a Forum, a temple of Mars and the traces of arches from an ancient aqueduct.2 The Baptistry itself was also seen as an ancient temple of Mars, rededicated to St. John the Baptist by the Christians. lIbid., p. 78. 21bid. 92 Although many of the Tuscan Romanesque elements of Brunelleschi's design for the loggia of the Innocenti have already been pointed out, one other observation may be telling at this point. It has been observed that the general shape of the structure of the Innocenti with its round, profiled arches, capitals, round columns and a series of cupolas in the vaults of the loggia, hark back as well to the arcade and side aisles of the Romanesque church, SS. Apostoli. The use of the architrave along the top which turns down at the side, was to be seen at the Baptistry. This, of course, was a mistake made by della Luna and which Brunelleschi according to Manetti pointed out. A close model for the capitals can be seen at Fiesole cathedral.1 Before ending this discussion of humanist influence on the design of the Innocenti, more can be said about other aspects of humanist thinking that pertain to the reason for building the structure at all: a concern with charity, and views on adolescent education. Coluccio Salutati discussed the importance of faith and charity to insure the well-being of a community. Salutati also believed in the active life such that man "... must endeavour to lay the foundations of society and 1George Holmes, The Florentine Enlightenment 1400-50, p. 138. 93 1 For Salutati the fatherland and one's establish a state". friends were the most valuable things in life. Taking care one's family, friends, children, relatives and the father- land would result in spiritual reward. During an epidemic when he was advised to leave the city, Salutati refused in the belief that no man had the right to leave the ties which he had to his community and brothers. Leonardo Bruni, like Salutati, believed in the importance of the family, and the active industrious life, which would lead towards the improvement of the state. Leonardo Bruni saw the formation of the complete man as goal of each individual, and, to this end, he placed special emphasis on the develop- ment of civic virtues. He was concerned moreover with the happiness and well-being of all of the members of the state, for this insured its continued existence. For Bruni, as it was praiseworthy to assure the happiness of one person, so it would be even more so to gain happiness for the whole state. Bruni can thus be seen to have acknowledged the Christian necessity of caring for one's neighbor, and thereby realizing in a concrete way the goals of a happy community. The building of the Innocenti was the outcome of the active participation by citizens in realization of this goal. Eugenio Battisti notes the 1Eugenio Garin, ed. Italian Humanism Philosophy and Civic Life in the Renaissance, trans. Peter Munz, (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1965), p. 27. 94 compliance of the Innocenti's functions with the beliefs of humanist writers. The numerous activities at the In- nocenti would seem to have been calculated to lead a child into becoming a satisfied, socialized, and grateful citi- zen, who would owe a great deal of loyalty to his city for having fed and sheltered him. The nursery, boarding school, trade school, social center and hospital were really microcosms of Florentine society itself. As the family was perceived as important to the well~being of society, so these children were provided with one. As previously pointed out, lay piety in the early Renaissance was recognized as a virtue in it- self, a requirement of the Christian life, and a stabilizing factor of society. Marvin Becker makes the point that the Innocenti provided a "... racially different stage for noble action... never before had so large and rationala space been con~ structed to express man's humaneness."1 The rational, harmonious setting provided by the loggia, could be seen as an example of civic harmony and accord, for the benefit of all citizens. The Innocenti can be seen as actively par— ticipating in the growth and good of the city. It was providing the foundations of a prosperous and powerful Florence. Not only was it physically providing for the 1Marvin B. Becker, "Aspects of Lay Piety in Early Renaissance Florence," The Pursuit of Holiness in Late Medieval and Renaissance Religion, p. 197. 95 future pOpulation, but in the design of the loggia, might serve as a daily reminder to citizens of their own duties to the republic. Humanists' views on education and contemporary 15th century beliefs concerning adolescents are interesting as they illuminate the importance of the Innocenti as an institution. In the 15th century humanistic education served, in its way, as did the confraternities, the purpose of preparing youth to enter into Florentine society. Richard Trexler has discussed the importance of adolescents in 15th century Renaissance society. His observations of this phenomenon need to be reviewed here before continuing with a summary of humanistic goals in the proper education of the young. In the late 13th century adult confraternities, Trexler points out, were formed to provide both religious and secular training for adolescents. In the 14th century the confraternities were not limited only to the young but were for 'uomini' or 'donne' or both.1 The purpose of the organizations was either for singing of church music or for participation in outdoor processions. The latter kind of activity, fostered by the flagellants, was managed through strict internal discipline. In the 15th 1Richard Trexler,"Ritual in Florence: Adolescence and Salvation in the Renaissance," The Pursuit of Holiness in Late Medieval and Renaissance Religion, p. 205. 96 century these organizations became more diverse and included standard bearers and night companies. During the 15th century there was even confraterni- ties for specific age groups. The adolescent group called the 'Nativity', or 'of the Archangel Raphael', was estab- lished in 1410 and met in the hospital of La Scala. In 1417 another company was formed, S. Niccolo del Ceppo, and by 1435, there were several societies of boys in Florence. The major reason for the existence of these organizations was to organize and remove young boys from disorderly street life, and to channel their recreation periods into pious endeavors. The groups were also corporate in nature, and 'adult' in their methods or organization. Young members were re- quired to help make constitutions, and to vote for the officials in the group.1 Older adults exerted certain measures of control over the groups especially in providing financial support for the activities. It was also important to parents and other lay leaders that their children not develop strong religious vocations, lest they enter the religious life. The secular organizations played an important role in city activities particularly through their involvement in processions. Adolescents were often preferred to represent the different families of the political sections 11bid., p. 210-11. 97 or neighborhoods of the city during processions. Trexler observes that companies of boys who presented the image of innocence to the Florentine citizens.1 The youthful groups were also involved in dramatic representations, which served as well in involving youngsters in societal expectations. Youths would take the place of statues and pictures to represent sacred stories. Florentines enjoyed watching these children thus taught artfully how to stimulate natural behavior by careful indoctrination.2 A procession which occurred in 1390 in Florence included several foundlings. This procession was concerned with the plaque and was taken part in by citizenry, confraternities, members oftfluaSignoria and clergy, all walking through the streets carrying an image of the Virgin. When the proces— sion ended at the Piazza della Signoria there was a large service and the image of the Virgin was put in the Piazza. Platforms were erected around this spot, and on one of these stood orphans and the cantors. Important to this study of the Innocenti is the elevated position here reserved for orphans by Florentine society, indicated by their position on the platform no less than their partici- pation in the procession. 1Ibid., p. 222. 21bid., p. 224. 98 Trexler speculated that these orphans probably came from the foundling home of La Scala.1 The last record of members of the city's welfare institutions taking part in an actual procession in the city dates from 1422. Sick, poor, and foundlings from La Scala were included in celebrations marking the first day a Florentine galley departed for Alexandria, and therefore the emergence of Florence as a sea power. Trexler sees this incident as underscoring the part which these lower elements were made to play in the corporate nature of the city. "Clearly," he says,2 Florence in these years was grOping for a proper way to present its children to God. It had made the decision to do so, but had not yet found the right form. Contemporary views of adolescents and children in 15th century Florence are complex and the existence of cases of abandonment and infanticide have already been discussed as aspects of the foundling problem. On the one hand, Florentines were well aware of their Christian duty to the poor and to the care of children. On the other hand, a verse written in the 15th century indicates other possible attitudes towards children which are less positive:3 11bid., p. 368. 21bid., p. 379. 31bid., p. 465, Note 27. 99 ... bothersome and vain songs of those who never go down the street quietly. Thus the cruel Herod could return, but (this time) to kill those from four to twelve years, once he hears them, and only if he does. Certainly if that were done he would not be so much scorned as praised by the celestial choirs. For they displease everyone alive... The attitude towards children and foundlings as well was complicated by a decline in the population. Since 1400 the population of Florence had been steadily dropping, partly, not doubt, because of plagues and recent economic turmoil. Another apparent cause was that many men were in the habit of marrying late in their lives or not at all, as was the case with Brunelleschi himself. In 1427 for example, only one fourth of the 4456 males between 18 and 32 were married.2 The average age to marry was around 34. It also happened that fathers would often die before their children were grown up, and, therefore children might be abandoned as widowed mothers resorted to leaving daughters in nunneries and abandoning those who remained upon remarry- ing. According to Florentine custom, if a woman was to remarry, she had to completely leave the house of her husband and the children in it in order to receive her dowry. "A widowed mother could not have her dowry in hand as long as she lived under the same roof as, and thus was supported by, even the most juvenile oldest son and his estate."3 lIbid., 368. 2Ibid., p. 379. 3Ibid., p. 465, Note 27. 100 Different kinds of attitudes towards children, the decline in the population of Florence, and humanist beliefs concerning civic pride and obligation all play a role in the type of educational experience which the humanists approved of for children. Religious instruction was deemed important no less than training in proper social behavior. It was important that the youth act like adults in the presence of friends and superiors. Manners were valued as Well as thoughtful and careful writing and speech.1 Both the confraternities and humanist educators organized and prepared their youthful charges for entry into the Florentine social system and wished to suppress disorderly and aggressive behavior. The loggia of the Innocenti can be seen as a means of implementation of these purposes. In terms of controlling aggressive behavior, one can recall the statement made by Alberti in which he describes how porticoes are useful places for fathers to converse with one another as well as keep control over their children. The stable, harmonious and clearly organized sense of Brunelleschi's design for the loggia would seem in itself to be conducive to disciplined behavior. The decline in the male pOpulation and the importance of maintaining a sizable population for the future of the 1Richard Trexler, "Ritual in Florence: Adolescence and Salvation in the Renaissance," p. 243-44. lOl city, necessitated organized efforts to gather up foundlings and nourish them in an environment which would encourage the development of a social conscience and responsible future citizens. Because many of these children were often born of prominent citizens, it was important that they should be looked after properly. One can recall the case of Francesco Datini in Prato, actively concerned over the welfare of his illegitimate daughter until she was grown. The humanist educators, might well have endorsed, the Innocenti as a suitable place for children on another level as well. The family could be seen as possibly a poor place to rear children, particularly males. Women could be seen as a threat to their son's masculinity; "... under the care of a sensual mother and indulgent father, little could be 1 It appeared best to send the children away. expected". Those who were rich could send their children to humanist boarding schools, while those of the middle classes could rely on the confraternities to foster in their offspring a social conscience and proper behavior. Both the humanist schools and confraternities were seen to produce young people who could contribute to the moral regeneration of the family no less than the society as a whole. Both were based on the assumption that through the repression 1Ibid., p. 237. 102 of sensual and aggressive appetites in biologically mature adolescents, careful training in well defined and controlled settings could produce father images in youth of tender years. The methods of the humanist schools and confra- ternities were also similar: the avoidance of solitude, of contacts with older boys, the systematic utilization of all leisure time, training in gesture and expression in both actions and speech. In the sense of providing future responsible citizens, the Innocenti can be seen for what it indeed was at the time in 15th century Florence. Being intended from the start to be more than a hospital, it specialized in the upbringing of adolescents. The specialization, probably the earliest instance in the history of welfare institu- tions, can be seen as arising out of the beliefs and goals of early Renaissance society and humanist thinkers in particular. The Innocenti stands as a testimony to the beginnings of a new style in life as in art. Brunelleschi the architect, himself an active participant in civic life at the same time must have seen his loggia not only from a purely aesthetic point of view as the frontispiece of the entire complex, but as a symbol of its innovative functions, for the sake of Christian charity and the Florentine Republic. The elevation of the loggia indicated, to citizen and visitor alike, the impor— tance of its functions within the city, which, in the early 15th century, felt itself to be rising to new importance. 103 The original nine arched Openings might perhaps have been seen as referring to the nine members comprising Florence's executive political branch, the Signoria. The wide arches are supported upon stable, classical looking columns and capitals, symbolic of the ancient and illus— trious Florentine tradition. In the spandrels are the roundels with their figures of innocenti, who are seen as important members, ultimately citizens of this society, no less than individual souls loved by God. Even the children of slaves became citizens once they had been left here; the republic became their father. Hartt makes the point of a purely Christian numerical symbolism present in the facade, which of course would coincide again with the charitable nature of the work. The simple proportional relationship of the parts as dis- cussed in Chapter One: one to two, one to five, and two to five would have been seen by Brunelleschi and his patrons as relating to Christ,1 ... the supreme exemplar of charity for which the hospital was founded. (Christ) is the Second Person of the Trinity, the wounds of Christ number five, and the product of two and five is the number of the commandments. According to Hartt, basing his statement on studies by Rudolf Wittkower, Divine Proportion was one of the goals of the Renaissance theorists and artists who related a humanist view of the world to religious tradition. 1Frederick Hartt, Italian Renaissance Art, p. 151. Rudolf Wittkower, Architectural Principals in the Age of Humanism, (New York: Random House, 1965). 104 The full significance of the Innocenti facade probably involved in Brunelleschi's mind a design out in front. By now such a grand scheme can be admitted as indeed possible. CHAPTER SIX BRUNELLESCHI AND THE PIAZZA SS. ANNUNZIATA The Silk Guild and Brunelleschi very likely had in mind an entire piazza with surrounding buildings in addition to the Innocenti itself. The wide arches, stair- way and ample space were most likely meant to be joined to a still greater, yet articulate outdoor space. Such a grand, civic project would have been in keeping with the wealthy sponsors, societal needs, the mood of the early Renaissance, and the architect's own special desire. The more space, he must have thought, that could be provided in front of the loggia, the easier it would be for a spectator to take in the entire length of the portico, and thus more fully appreciate the design. Perhaps Brunelleschi had the idea of creating an exceptionally magnificent all—encompassing effect of piazza, surrounding loggias and a main, broad thoroughfare directly into the complex and directly from the Lupalone. In fact, a similarly grand project for Santo Spirito was, according to Manetti, acutally planned by Brunelleschi, but stopped by citizens whose homes were in the surrounding area. 105 106 It seems that Brunelleschi made a model of the church of Santo Spirito, and that he wanted a piazza beginning at the bank oftflmaArno River, in order to allow for an imposing, over—all long view of the church, which would have faced onto the proposed piazza. Manetti recounts how the arrangement would have been convenient, but finally did not1 ... appeal to the powerful men of that time. Later they regretted that because of unimportant motives it was not so built. Authorities accom- plish many things, it is true, but at times they ruin some of them, considering that the church became turned out in that way. Saalman attributes the failure of the scheme to the many factions of power within the city government and points out that a more absolute form of power would have been necessary to make such a comprehensive scheme possible. That Brunelleschi's plans for a more expanded project for the Innocenti were not written down or even a model after them is not particularly surprising either. Manetti says that Brunelleschi tended to be rather secretive about his exact plans for a building.:2 He took care to have only the principal walls built and to show the relationship of certain members with- out the ornaments... Thus his own provisions later caused him much annoyance and overall complex and made quite a hodgepodge of his things... If the ele- ments were not made so carefully in the model he did not care, but it seemed that he was concerned that whoever would make the model should not discover his every secret... 1Antonio di Tuccio Manetti, The Life of Brunelleschi, p. 124. 2Ibid., p. 116. 107 Brunelleschi himself, of course, became involved in other work, and the fortunes of the Florentine republic were to fluctuate, with the result that the actual opening of the Innocenti did not occur until some twenty years after the building had been started. Brunelleschi's experiments in perspective renderings lead one to think that he calculated the effect of the spatial surrounding of any single building as part of the ultimate design. The very pared down style of his exterior decoration points to the fact that clear defin- itions of parts are especially pleasing when they are seen together from a distance. Any building with easily- comprehended relationship of spaces and masses might be expected to fit harmoniously into a larger architectural scheme; in this case a piazza and additional loggias. According to Manetti, among Brunelleschi's experimental perspective paintings was one of the Piazza della Signoria, with surrounding buildings, in addition to the Palazzo Vecchio, whose north and west facades were shown.1 The loggia of the Signoria certainly an example of an arcaded facade to Brunelleschi, was included in this painting. Gulio Argan has noted that there is a kinship between the loggia of the Signoria and that of the Innocenti. He sees the very wide span of the Innocenti's arches as more closely related to the arches of the loggia of the Signoria, or 1Isabelle Hyman, ed., Brunelleschi in Perspective, (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1974), p. 130. 108 the ogival arches of S. Maria Novella and S. Maria del Fiore than to those of the church of SS. Apostoli or of Roman monuments.1 It is important to note that the church of SS. Annunziata adjacent to the Innocenti on the North side of the Piazza was itself a scene of civic activities and religious spectacles. It is possible as well that the Innocenti was to have had a connecting wing extended to the church, or some other kind of physical connection with it.2 The problem of the piazza and Brunelleschi's conception of an entire square is still argued by scholars. A discus- sion of the existence of a plan for the Piazza della SS. Annunziata is taken up by Eugenio Battisti in his recent study on Brunelleschi. He noted that the size and prOpor- tions as well as the energetic character of the Innocenti's loggia by themselves serve to define the unorganized space in front to a certain extent. A passage from Arcangelo Giani, historian for SS. Annunziata in the early 17th century, describes certain restorative work which was done on the 15th century church. Alberti had been called in to work on the dome and choir and Antonio Manetti Ciaccheri was commissioned: 1Giulio Carlo Argan, "The Architecture of Brunelleschi and the Origins of Perspective Theory in the Fifteenth Century," Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 9 (1946):108. 2Eugenio Battisti, Brunelleschi, p. 348. 109 ... to make a model of the other part of the church with a porch and piazza to be laid out square according to what had already been de- signed by the illustrious Filippo Brunelleschi in his time; and after the ground had been 1 broken for the foundation of the domed choir... Other evidence suggests that Brunelleschi and Michelozzo were each working on projects for the church of SS. Annunziata. In a letter of May 3, 1471 from Giovanni di Domenico da Gaiole to Lodovico Gonzaga, Brunelleschi is mentioned as known to have been displeased with a proposal for the rotunda of SS. Annunziata. The letter states: It was designed by Michelozzo and in such a manner as to be damned by Filippo, our master, for several reasons: first of all because it was erected so close up against the church that there remains no proper crossing for the nave and the body of the church... And there is nothing good, either per se or in the whole, which is why this work is condemned in its entirety.2 The plan of the piazza itself is an irregular trapezoid whose sides are not aligned with respect to the streets leading to it. There are also differences in the level, as much as five feet in some areas. The desire to regularize the open space in front of the church of SS. Annunziata goes back as far as 1421, and is recorded in a document which states that: The friars of SS. Annunziata request a subsidy for the completion of the paving of the piazza, desiring that people come in great numbers to the church for reverence to God and His most 11bid. 21bid. 110 saintly Mother and for the devotion due her image in the act of the Annunciation which is painted in their church.1 There is also a drawing by Filarete for the market square in his city of Sforzinda which has been associated with the portico of the Innocenti by Lotz.2 The piazza and thus the loggia of the Innocenti was meant to be a lively, populated place. The loggia itself was much larger than what was necessary for providing merely entrances into the church, Cloister and ward beyond. The loggia with its open spaces and ample steps could be- come a setting in which people might converse or conduct business transactions. In book seven of his treatise on architecture Alberti speaks of using uniform structures such as porticos for the adornment of crossroads, forums and theatres. For Alberti, the forum is a spacious crossroads, and can be a place for spectacles if surrounded by stepped tiers of seats. Such a space is the Piazza SS. Annunziata. In Chapter Six. Alberti says that places need to be set aside for nurses and children, and he says: I believe that the children would be healthier for being in the open air, and the nurses would maintain a more fitting deportment out of pride in themselves, and being among so many others engaged in the same surveillance would be less negligent.3 11bid. 21bid., p. 348. 31bid., p. 48. 111 It is tempting to imagine that Alberti thought of such a peaceful scene taking place on the steps of the Innocenti. The Innocenti thus represents a coming together of a number of concerns which characterize the early Florentine Renaissance. It is one of the earliest examples of a specialized welfare institution, and one of the first Renaissance designs. More than a hospital, it embodied the latest beliefs of "avant-garde" thinkers, expressed through the creative and astute genius of Filippo Brunelleschi, in his design for the loggia. The spacious and open loggia, with its extra-wide arches and slender columns, can be seen in stark contrast to several other hospital loggias built before and after it. The loggia of San Matteo made use of a high base upon which its columns stood, giving a much less open and embracing effect. Filatete's Ospedale Maggiore, begun in 1456, seems again to have wanted to be comparatively closed in because of its stress on decorated wall surfaces rather than openings defined by wide arches on slender columns. A fresco of the hospital of Santo Spirito in Sassia, 1474-82, shows the building with a loggia in front, yet once again reduces the amount of open inviting space by employing a high base for its columns. One apparent reason why the Innocenti makes use of such wide, accepting spaces has been discussed in this study. It was not only a hospital, but a home, school, and religious 112 center; a microcosm of the city of Florence. The foundlings which came to the Innocenti were not seen as undesirable. They were not meant to be locked away or forgotten. Hospitals or asylums which dealt with the poor and infirm as opposed to orphans and foundlings were likely to see their inmates in a less positive way, inspite of the Christian sense of charitable duty. A more closed, conceal— ing and in the end, less accepting attitude is suggested by the facade designs for these kinds of institutions. The Innocenti was in every sense of the word, a human and humane endeavor, which is clearly reflected in its design. 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