Museum of the Hospital Degli Innocenti

My visit to the Museum of the Hospital Degli Innocenti was one of my favorites so far. I love kids so it was really interesting to see one of the first places devoted to the care of children in Florence. However, I could not believe some of the methods I learned about that they would use. These methods can even be seen on the outside of the hospital. For example, decorating the outside at the top there are small pieces of artwork. They depict babies wrapped up almost like mummies. I learned that this was the common practice when the hospital was active. However, this practice was also detrimental to the children's health. The doctors thought it was helping the children but it was doing the opposite. This hospital also worked as a sort of ancient orphanage. Today, you can still see where people could anonymously drop off their unwanted children. On the inside, there were places specifically for men and women. The museum mostly had paintings and instruments that were used when the hospital was active. It was interesting to compare it to the technology we have today and see both the differences and similarities.