First public institution of its kind in modern Europe
Formal structure for providing care and shelter to infants and children in need.
Before:orphaned children were provided for by extended family, neighbors, or the Church.
13 and 14 centuries: Urban populations rose + plague decimated families —> need arose to care for increasing numbers of abandoned and ill children.
1419: the Guild of Silk Manufacturers (Brunelleschi was a member) commissioned the prominent young architect to design the foundling hospital for Florence.
Built on the Piazza della Santissima Annunziata, next to the Church of the Santissima Annunziata (“Holiest Annunciation”), a well-known destination for pilgrims(朝圣者). Public symbol of the guild’s good works and its commitment to Florence’s civic life.
Style: New Renaissance style (classical forms).
Facade(正面) features an arcade(拱廊):arches carried by columns (reinterpretation of Corinthian columns).
Corinthian columns: fluted—>Brunelleschi’s: rounded, topped with acanthus leaves
The arcade creates a sheltered portico(柱廊)—>a safe harbor for babies left at the doors of the orphanage.
Each bay of the arcade
twenty-foot-tall columns+twenty feet away from the building=cube.
topped by a pendentive(三角拱弧) dome that is half the height of the columns.
The bays on each end of the facade are slightly larger—>framing the expanse.
Geometric order —> rationality of classical architecture.
White stucco walls and grey Pietra Serena columns and moldings —> Austere and understated color scheme—> Horizontality, balance, and symmetry. The height and elegance of the columns provide an airy counterbalance to the wide expanse of the facade.—>serene atmosphere
Architecture Influence:the architecture of the palaces of the Medici and Rucellai families.
Hospital Influence:Growing city-states like Florence to take on active roles in health and child services, responsibilities that were once the sole province of the Church.
1445:The hospital opened and admitted sixty-two infants. It provided care for infants and children continuously for more than four centuries.
1875:Hospital closed.
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