This graceful 14th-century marble loggia, opposite the Battistero, was built for the Misericordia charity and served as a lost-and-found office for children.

Loggia del Bigallo has been a small museum since 1904.

From outside, you can admire the frescoed building, but heading inside will give you a chance to see the much deteriorated but famous fresco of the Madonna della Misericordia, an image of the Virgin Mary with her cape encompassing her devotees.

The Bigallo Madonna is depicted with the oldest known view of Florence, from 1352.

Its two arched bays are richly applied with bas-reliefs of prophets, angels, the Virtues, a Christ giving the benediction and an Ecce Homo.

The interior contains a museum of objects related to the Compagnia del Bigallo.