The Bearcat Diaries: The Baby Door

Back in April my friend Philipp was visiting from Germany. I had met Philipp the first month I was here almost 3 years ago in my language class and despite our huge age difference became great friends, he's like a kid brother to me.

It had been almost 2 years since I had seen Philipp and also I think since he had been back to Florence. We were walking to aperitivo the evening he arrived and he was trying to get his bearings on the location of my new apartment. We walked across Piazza Annunziata ( more formerly known as Piazza Santissima Annunziata). As we entered the piazza he said, "Oh, I know this piazza!! This is the piazza with the baby door!"

I looked at him as if he had already had too much to drink and repeated, "The baby door? Philipp, what are talking about? What's a baby door?" He said, "Andrea! THE BABY DOOR! You know it is the door where they put the babies!" I said, "Where they put the babies? What babies? Whose babies? WTF are you talking about Philipp?" I was totally confused. He went on to say there is a door where the people put the babies in a box that they don't want and then they put the box in the door. It took me a minute and I said," like in the movies when someone puts a baby in a basket and leaves it at the door of someones home or at a church?" He said, " YES! OF COURSE!!" ( of course being his favorite expression). " Really? In this piazza? Are you sure? How do you know?" He said, " Because everyone knows about the baby door!" Well I didn't! Where is it? He did not know but was sure it is in this piazza.

For one year, everyday I am in town I walk across Piazza Annunziata and have never heard of or seen a baby door. I see gypsies, I see tourists, a church, a statue, on some Saturdays a farmers market, a cafe , no baby door. About a month goes by and I had forgotten about the baby door until one night when I was walking with my friend Mary ( from Rome but studying here in Florence) and I asked her," Hey Mary, did you know there is a baby door in this piazza?" She said, " Siiiiiii! Infatti!!!" I asked if she knew where it was and she said no, but it is here. I thought how does everyone know about this baby door but no one knows where it is.

I would continue to look for this "baby door". Not everyday, but on the days I remembered to look. I looked at windows and mail slots and was picturing a tiny little door that maybe one of these guys would walk through:

Fast forward to Sunday. I had met my friend Eli for an afternoon cocktail to catch up, it had been months since I've seen him. Albanian by birth but having lived in Florence for most of his life, Eli knows a ton about this city. He studied at The University if Firenze and is totally up on the history of this city. Great thing about hanging with Eli is his English sucks so it's always good for practicing my Italian. Anyway, he was walking me home and as we come to Piazza Annunziata I ask him , "Eli, do you know about the baby door, la porta di bambina?" He says yes that he knows. I ask if he knows where it is and he says, " SI!!! Lo so!" He knows! He knows! Finally someone knows where it is!! I ask him to show me and with that comes a history lesson about the building that holds " the baby door"

Cliff notes version is as follows: The Santissima Annunziata ( the church) is on the North side of the square. The original church which was a tiny little church was built there in 1250, the church building that stands there now was built in the 15th century. I have to admit until Sunday I had never gone inside, my miss because it is really unlike any other church in Florence, very Baroque and ornate, quite beautiful. The church gets it's name from a famous painting inside that depicts the Annunciation. That's all I got on the church because religion and churches are for sure a phone a friend catagory for me.

On the East side of the piazza is the Spedale Degli Innocenti, and this is where you find the baby door. The Spedale Degli Innocenti is said to be Europe's first orphanage, opened in 1445. Eli explained that the door was actually like a window with a wheel like shelf. When women birthed unwanted children they put them on the wheel and rang a bell. The wheel would turn inward bringing the baby into the building allowing for anonymity. Today the Spedale houses a museum and the offices of UNICEF.

This city is filled with so much history, you learn something everyday, just walking around. I had never really taken much notice of this building. As I photographed it I noticed the ceramic reliefs of babies above the arches of the portico and wondered how I had missed that. In the far northeastern corner of the Spedale, tucked under an archway lies " the baby door"