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This text is the description of an investigation. At the same time it is an interpretative essay and detailed description of still unexplored archival material, currently being catalogued. It also describes photographs, scientific instruments and books, all belonging to one of the oldest and most important institutions for childhood. The focus is on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, a decisive and yet too little studied period at the origins of pediatrics. During this period the Istituto degli Innocenti experienced an extraordinary transformation from being a place of charity to being a centre for maternity and infant care in the modern sense, where pioneering activities took place relating to scientific research, sanitary care, medical experimentation and training, as well as to specialised nursing, prevention and divulgation.