Italian Film Festival USA presents The Innocents of Florence (Gli Innocenti di Firenze)

It’s 1410, and there is a huge social problem in Florence: babies are abandoned and dying at an alarming rate. To solve the problem, Florence’s humanists build a hospital for babies to assist young mothers. In 1446, to celebrate the completion of the new building, they commission a painting to act as the poster, logo and symbol for the new institute: The Madonna of the Innocents attributed to Domenico di Michelino. 

Flash forward 600 years to 2013—the very same painting sits in a museum within the original building. Two women, an American and an Italian, are tasked with the restoration of the work to be displayed in the museum. Over the course of thirty months the painting is meticulously restored and new mysteries about its origins are discovered. 

The restoration of the artwork was financed by Jane Fortune of Indianapolis through the non-profit group that she founded, Advancing Women Artists, headquartered in Indianapolis. 

Directed by David Battistella, 2019, 90 minutes, Not Rated. 

Film presented in Italian with English subtitles.