The Institute

The Istituto degli Innocenti of Florence is one of the oldest public institutions in Italy dedicated to the care, upbringing and protection of children. Since 5 February 1445, the day it welcomed little Agata Smeralda, the Institute has worked ceaselessly to defend and promote the rights of children and adolescents.

Today the Istituto degli Innocenti is a Public Sector Company providing Care Services (ASP) as per Regional Law 43/2004, art. 32, and is governed by a Statute whose latest version was approved by the Decree of the President of Tuscany’s Regional Council no. 152/2016. The Institute is managed by a Board of Directors that remains in office for 5 years and has 5 members. The President of the Italian Republic granted his High Patronage to the Institute’s 2019 initiatives.

We promote the active rights of children and adolescents according to the Convention on the Rights of the Child adopted in New York on 20 November 1989 that became enforceable in Italy with Law no. 176/1991.

We collaborate with the Italian Government, the Regional Government of Tuscany, the Municipality of Florence, UNICEF (the Innocenti Research Centre) and other public and private organisations at local, regional, national and international level.

At a time of great and strong cultural, social and, not least, economic changes, when there are no longer clear boundaries between different identities and people with their own stories, we contribute to building a society capable of developing the potential of all its citizens, starting with the youngest ones, through policies combining opportunities, equity and inclusion.

Care, Responsibility and Culture: the Values of the Istituto degli Innocenti

Our history is characterised by the following values: Care, Responsibility and Culture. They are still the foundations of our statutory aims. We mainly work in three areas:

• Care, education and parenting support: we provide and manage care services for children and families in difficulty as well as educational services for children and parents.
• Study, research and training on the condition of children and young people to support national, regional and local policies and promote the culture of childhood and adolescence: we carry out research, monitoring and documentation activities on issues concerning childhood, adolescence and families. We provide training and professional development for people who work with children, young people and families. We manage the documentation and monitoring activities of the National Documentation and Analysis Centre for Childhood and Adolescence and the Regional Documentation Centre for Childhood and Adolescence.
• Heritage and asset protection: we enhance our historical, artistic, monumental and archival heritage through activities to protect and promote the history of the Institute and the culture of childhood, and through the redevelopment of our real estate assets.