The buildings of the
Ospizio di San Michele were built during the 17th and 18th centuries and served a number of purposes including an
orphanage, a
hospice for abandoned elderly, and jails for minors and women. In 1679, a nephew of the new
Pope Innocent XI (reigned 1676–1689), Monsignor Carlo Tommaso Odescalchi commissioned architect
Mattia de Rossi to design, and within five years had built an hospice to house and train orphan children to manufacture of woven carpets and
tapestries. To this building were added in 1693, the
Ospizio dei Poveri Inabilito (disabled poor), and in 1709,
Pope Clement XI commissioned the architect
Carlo Fontana to extend the complex even further and transferred the elderly residents here from the
Ospedale dei Mendicanti, located where the
Via Giulia reached the
Ponte Sisto. Later additions to the building were the prison for minors and an art school. In 1735,
Pope Clement XII commissioned architect
Ferdinando Fuga to design a woman's prison and a barracks for customs officers. The Chiesa Grande, also known as the
San Salvatore degli Invalidi, follows a design (1706) of Carlo Fontana, but construction was completed only in 1834 by
Luigi Poletti. It has been reconsecrated. The church has an
aedicula with a statue of the Saviour by
Adamo Tadolini. The smaller ancient church of
Santa Maria del Buon Viaggio, on the south east end of the complex, was dedicated to sailors, who were embarking from here to travel down the Tiber. Initially, the church incorporated part of the walls of the city, then was incorporated by the complex. It remains closed. ==Decline and remodeling==