Prostitution, Repentance and Social Welfare in Renaissance Florence
Distributed for University of London Press
Prostitution, Repentance and Social Welfare in Renaissance Florence
A study of the survival of Sant’Elisabetta delle Convertite, the Florence monastery for repentant prostitutes, during the long Renaissance.
From the fourteenth century, prostitutes in Florence were encouraged to leave their profession and enter the monastery of Sant’Elisabetta delle Convertite, which became one of the city’s most populous monasteries and endured for five centuries. As the longest-lasting institution for repentant prostitutes, it played a significant role in the history of nuns, prostitution, social welfare, and civic morality.
Prostitution, Repentance and Social Welfare in Renaissance Florence offers the first full study of Sant’Elisabetta, situating the nunnery within medieval penitential piety, Renaissance charity, and early modern welfare. Drawing on extensive archival sources, it examines how Florentine authorities sought to manage prostitution, support the monastery, and regulate welfare, illuminating broader state–monastic relations across the long Renaissance.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1 Prostitution and repentance before Sant’Elisabetta
2 Sant’Elisabetta’s foundation and first 75 years (1329–1402)
3 The Onestà and the Notte: civic funding and legalised prostitution (1403–1469)
4 Sant’Elisabetta and civic authorities at the end of the republic (1470–1512)
5 Sant’Elisabetta and the ducal state (1513–1568)
6 Sant’Elisabetta in Grand Ducal Florence (1569–1619)
7 A new era? (1619—1650)
Conclusion
Appendices