Built in the 14th Century next to the church, the Casa Santa Dell’Annunziata was a charitable institution dedicated to the care of abandoned infants. Modifications were carried out in the 16th and 18th centuries making the style predominately Renaissance. The 16th Century marble portal by Tommaso and Giovanni Malvito leads you to the courtyard and the ‘Wooden Wheel’. This contraption was one of the most famous of its kind in Italy. It’s actually a cylindrical wooden drum into which the children were placed – with grownups for safety – for rides. It was no longer used after 1875.
