Children of Italy

This volume proposes the contents of the exhibition Sons of Italy. The Innocenti and the Birth of a National Childhood Project (1861-1911). The exhibition illustrates the history of the care of abandoned children in Florence, Milan, Venice, Naples and Bologna in the first fifty years of the national state, offering a never-before-seen look at a period that saw the theme of childhood and its care rightfully become part of the nascent unified policies.

Through the biographies of 15 children who lived at the Innocenti and other Italian Brefotrofi between 1861 and 1911, and thanks to period photographs, videos, objects and archival documents, Figli d'Italia recounts the daily lives of children within the institutions.

The volume is available at the Innocenti Library and can be viewed in its Online Catalog.