L'infanzia femminile a Firenze nel Quattrocento

Female childhood in 15th-century Florence has been deeply analyzed by scholars over the past fifty years. However, it is still possible to reconsider some details to think about. This article aims to provide a concise review of the topic, starting from a selection of published and unpublished sources and more or less recent studies. What emerges is a multi-layered problem, in terms of dowry as a matter of financial investment, marriage practices as a means of social promotion, closely related public and private life, and charitable institutions as a mode of acquiring consent. In this complex network, girls lose their invisibility to become a strategic asset of Renaissance Florence politically and socially.