The four great Venetian Ospedali (Ospedali Grandi, also referred to as the Ospedali Maggiori) - the Ospedale della Pietà, the Ospedale degl'Incurabili, the Ospedale di Santa Maria dei Derelitti, and the Ospedale di San Lazzaro dei Mendicanti - were charitable hospices, which provided a wide range of services for the needy of Venice. They are most famously recognized for educating select female pupils (called figlie del coro) to professional levels of musicianship and attracting many European tourists to hear their all-female ensembles perform religious services and special concerts throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The musical training in the Ospedali Grandi is often thought of as a precursor to the training in European conservatories of the 19th century. Historical background Venice had a long history of caring for its sick, homeless, poor, and orphaned before the four Ospedali became recognized as a group musical institutions. The Ospedale degl’Incurabili (1522), the Ospedale di Santa Maria dei Derelitti (1528), and the Ospedale di San Lazzaro e dei Mendicanti (1595) all emerged from hospices that had been formed in Venice in the previous centuries. Each catered to a different need: the Incurabili took in all who contracted incurable diseases such as syphilis or the bubonic plague; the Derelitti provided a place of refuge for the homeless; the Mendicanti cared for beggars and orphans; while the Pietà (1346), which was founded from an orphanage, exclusively took in foundlings. The Ospedali's all-female musical ensembles - called cori - originated in the middle of the sixteenth century. The cori first performed music only for religious functions, and all music was taught either by current residents of the institutions who were already musically proficient or by hired church musicians (nuns or priests). During this time, the training in music was only meant to strengthen the liturgical services. Additionally, the figlie del coro were always required to perform in raised galleries, which had grating that hid the musicians from the eyes of the audience. By mid-seventeenth century, however, the Ospedali governors realized the economic potential of the cori, and they began to hire many professional external musicians and composers to teach performance practice, sight singing, ear training, music theory, and instrumental techniques. The higher-quality musical training yielded larger donations from patrons and visitors. Many of the figlie del coro would stay at the Ospedali for their whole lives, passing their musical knowledge and experience to younger residents, creating