Marietta, 1561: The Weaver

Born without money or a name, Marietta found another kind of family in the Innocenti, Europe’s first dedicated foundling hospital. She learned how to work the system from an early age and, now, with talent, confidence and a little luck, she is determined to get by as a silk weaver and a single mother.

With Marietta, discover the civic institutions that evolved in Renaissance Florence to sustain and shape life for the poor, abandoned and sick. Along the way, she introduces you to textile workers, nurses, and prostitutes – a glimpse into the world of working women in the sixteenth-century city.

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