The Ospedale di San Paolo dei Convalescenti (to give the hospital its full name) was founded in the first quarter of the 13th century. At the beginning of the 15th century Michelozzo was commissioned to rebuild it.
The loggia, which was added later (1489-1496), was influenced by Brunelleschi's loggia of the Ospedale degli Innocenti. In the spandrels are medallions of Franciscan saints by Andrea della Robbia. The bust of Ferdinando I de'Medici (c. 1594) is by Pietro Francavilla.