Catalog of the exhibition Children of Everyone… Children of Whom? The Foundlings of the Lisbon Wheel

This work constitutes the first volume of the catalog of the exhibition Children of all… Children of whom? The abandoned of the wheel of Lisbon, which aimed to reveal, with historical rigor and human density, the reality of abandoned children in Lisbon and the assistance system that received them over the centuries. Here, the entirety of the textual contents is gathered, as well as the representations of the artworks and archival documents displayed in the exhibition, around which the exhibition discourse developed, in a permanent dialogue and interaction. The art – represented, among others, by works of Leonardo da Vinci, Paula Rego, Graça Morais, Júlio Pomar, and Almada Negreiros – introduced a layer of sensitive and critical reading about motherhood, vulnerability, and collective responsibility regarding the phenomenon of child abandonment and its causes.

But more than presenting documents and artistic works as “objects” in themselves, the narrative center of the exhibition was placed on the abandoned children and their destinies: it followed the life stories of some of them, now adults, reconstructing paths through archival documents and the memory shared by their descendants, giving a face to those who, normally, remain forgotten by History.

The signs of the abandoned – small objects and messages left with the children (handwritten notes accompanied, or not, by textiles, medals, devotional images, amulets, or even locks of the mother’s hair) – were taken as threads of connection between the moment of abandonment at the wheel and the subsequent trajectories of the children, constituting the motif to unveil their life stories.
Far from being mere curiosities, these documents show how, even in situations where the identity and affiliation of the children were concealed, out of necessity or institutional norm, the intention to leave a key for future recognition of these minors by their relatives persisted.

The contents presented in this first volume, just like the exhibition itself, highlight this tension: between secrecy and care, between loss and the possibility of a reunion.

GENERAL COORDINATION 
Teresa Nicolau – Director of Culture of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa 

EXECUTIVE COORDINATION 
Helena Mantas – Museu de São Roque, SCML
Francisco d’Orey Manoel – Historical Archive of SCML
Nelson Moreira Antão – Historical Archive of SCML

CONTENT AUTHORS 
Nelson Moreira Antão
Teresa Nicolau
Helena Mantas
Francisco d’Orey Manoel

GRAPHIC DESIGN
Nuno Caniça – Stripeline, Lda.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT
Sílvia Salvado – Historical Archive of SCML

PHOTOGRAPHS 
Archief Gent 
Archivio Storico dell'Istituto degli Innocenti 
– M. Badiani, G. Cozzi
Porto District Archive
Asociación Civil Educativa y Solidaria El Hogar
National Library of Portugal
Brotéria, Cultural and Scientific Association – Francisco Fidalgo
Private collection of Ana Jorge
Private collection of Júlia Fernandes
Private collection of Vítor Mendes
DGLAB – National Archive of Torre do Tombo
Felícia Oliveira 
FelixArchief Antwerpen
Hospital de São José
Museo degli Innocenti – M. Lanza
Museum of Lisbon, EGEAC
Museums and Monuments of Portugal, EPE, Museu José Malhoa – Francisco Matias
National Museum of Ancient Art – José Paulo Ruas, Luísa Oliveira
National Museum of Tile – Manuel Paula
Multimedia Unit, Communication Directorate of SCML – João Oliveira, Margarida Carriço, Sofia dos Santos Silva
Stadsarchief Leuven

SUPPORT FOR EDITION 
Samuel Esteves – Editorial Center of SCML  

© Editor Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa

ISBN
978-989-9151-96-3
 
1st EDITION 
May | May, 2026