From medieval times or earlier, the practice of abandoning newborn babies was tragically widespread. In 1198, Pope Innocent III was distressed by the number of infants that were drowned in the Tiber River, and he declared that foundling wheels should be installed so women could anonymously leave their unwanted child in the care of a church, instead of killing it.
The “ruota pubblica”, a public wheelset in the outer wall of a house, church, or hospital was used for mothers to abandon infants they could not care for. The wheel had a small basket on which a baby could be placed, then rotated into the building, without anyone on the inside seeing the person abandoning the child.
