The façade is made up of nine semicircular arches springing from columns of the Composite order. The semicircular windows bring the building down, earthbound and is a revival of the classical style, no … See more

Brunelleschi's design was based on Classical Roman, Italian Romanesque and late Gothic architecture. The loggia was a well known building type, such as the Loggia dei Lanzi. But the use of round columns with classically correct capitals, in this case of the See more

The Foundling Hospital defines the eastern side of the Piazza Santissima Annunziata, the other two principal facades of which were built later to imitate Brunelleschi's … See more

• According to one scholar (c. 1961), the building "is considered to be the first pure Early Renaissance structure."
• In E. M. Forster's … See more

The Foundling Hospital was constructed in several phases and only the first phase (1419–1427) was under Brunelleschi's direct supervision. Under Brunelleschi's supervision he managed to lay the foundations, raise the main walls, finish off the basement with a … See more

Above each column is a ceramic tondo. These were originally meant by Brunelleschi to be blank concavities, but around 1490 Andrea della Robbia was commissioned to fill them in. The design features a baby in swaddling clothes. A few of the tondi are … See more

The Ospedale degli Innocenti was a charity institution that was responsible for the welfare of abandoned children. It represented social and humanistic views of Florence during the early Renaissance. It can also explain how investors used Florence's … See more