Making a living, making a life: Work in the orphanages of Florence and Bologna (1506-1615)

Between 1506 and 1615, Florence opened seven shelters for orphaned and aban doned children and adolescents and Bologna eight. These were fluid institut ions, rooted in medieval charitable hospitals, shaped by the models of fami ly, religious house and workhouse, and subject to continuing metamorphoses in later decades. Work provided income for these shelters and training for their charges. Differing work patterns (e.g. between work conducted inside or outside the home) highlight distinctions of gender and class between the homes of a particular city as well as distinctions in the political and so cial realities faced by Bologna and Florence. A general workhouse for the p oor in Bologna allowed its orphanages and conservatories to be more selecti ve in enrolling children and more successful in reintegrating them back int o society. In the absence of a general workhouse, some Florentine conservat ories were forced to fulfill that function (by enrolling larger numbers of poorer and unhealthy children) and suffered higher death rates.