The legend surrounding the hospital’s foundation at the end of the 12th century tells of a terrifying dream experienced by Pope Innocent III: in the Vatican area, some fishermen discover numerous lifeless bodies of newborns in the waters of the Tiber, thrown into the river by their own mothers. Reverently, the fishermen present them to the pope, who, deeply moved and horrified, turns away from the dreadful vision. The central panel, by an unknown artist, partially covering the original scene of the macabre catch, was added in the 18th century to soften the horror that the image might have provoked in the hospital’s patients.
