Antico Spedale del Bigallo

Along the old Via Aretina, which once connected Florence with Arezzo through the Valdarno, at the beginning of the 13th century a small shelter was built by the noble benefactor Dioticidiede di Bonaguida del Dado close to a spring, a hospice where wayfarers and pilgrims could find shelter and refreshment from the hardships of the journey. It is the hospice of Santa Maria a Fonteviva or Bigallo, which clearly recalls in its name the source of water where it was built, while the origin of the term 'Bigallo' is completely uncertain. From 1245 the building and its reception functions were managed by the newly founded Major Company of the Blessed Virgin Mary, called, precisely, of Bigallo.

Text from FeelFlorence (en), the official tourism portal of the Comune di Firenze and the Citta Metropolitana di Firenze; shortened