I’ve Captured The Dark And Mysterious History Of Madhouses In Italy (30 Photos)

There are many stains on the white straitjacket in the history of psychiatry. Italy and its Manicomio was, unfortunately, a prime example here in the last century.

The law of 1904 allowed the police forces to obtain an urgent request for a briefing. So there were not only the mentally ill but also "unwanted" people such as the homeless, petty criminals, etc. who were instructed and denounced without a diagnosis. The church also had the power to determine who was mentally ill. The physicians and the respective other parties were in this under the same blanket, so the doctors often confirmed a disease even though there was no illness.

Later, at a time when fascism prevailed in Italy, political opponents, disabled persons, and other groups of people who did not fit into the regime's model of society were barred to prison on the pretext of "social danger." So it went from 1926 to 1941, and the number grew from 62,000 to almost 100,000 inmates. Often, people were incapacitated and simply locked up until their death.

The living conditions in the asylums were mostly unworthy of human beings and the treatment methods were questionable and cruel: insulin treatments, restraint systems, and especially the later introduced electroshock therapy had devastating effects. The worst-off inmates experienced nothing but the lack of care and the robbery of human identity.

Here is an excerpt from the medical file of Vicenzo M. who was admitted at the age of 17 and who was "held" for the following 27 years in the same ward:

"10.5.47: Electric shock

10.7.47: Feverishly occupied tongue

10.11.47: Nothing new

12.4.48: Always apathetic, stupid, deprived of all initiative. He expresses no wishes; smiles blandly, eats voluntarily, does not seem to hallucinate.

10.11.61: (After 13 years) severe mental confusion, apathetic, inactive, indifferent.

Quiet in 1964, not aggressive, idle

Unchanged in 1967

1970: Unresponsive, dirty, apathetic indifferent. " [Source]

The boy was only in the asylum for being a case of a "madman". Previously, he was a normal schoolboy.

The end of this dark period came only 74 years later. when Legge 180, or otherwise known as the Basaglia Law, was issued on May 13, 1978. The Manicomi in their old form were closed. Franco Basaglia took over the management of the Psychiatric Clinic of Gorizia in 1961, having resigned as a psychiatry professor at the University of Padua since the theories taught there were wrong and had nothing to do with the condition of the persons in psychiatric hospitals. He was the first in the world to claim that one had to close and regulate psychiatric institutions because captivity, fixation, electroshock, and psychotropic drugs had no therapeutic value.

Today, many of these old, partly architecturally exciting buildings have been empty for many decades. They are memorials of ignorance and intolerance and they are monuments to thousands of terrible fates of innocent, sick and simply unfortunate people. Accordingly, I also felt an intense melancholy and oppressive mood when I visited these places. High, monastery-like corridors, high-security tracts, and dormitories that were often designed for 100 people or more.

Also, some of the legacies left there gave me goosebumps. Bathtubs that had electricity, old surgical chairs, children's chairs with ankle cuffs, straitjackets and old morgue tables.

Today, the old Manicomios disappear increasingly. Some were partially renovated or demolished because of the extreme danger of collapse. The vandalism has also increased in many of these places, helping it to become history.

Although our society has still not quite accepted that mental illness is a normal disease, it is shocking to see the dominant preconceptions until the mid-1970s. In any case, in comparison with conventional medicine, it was a scientific and moral Stone Age.

Over the years, many photographs have been accumulated and I possibly have the opportunity to publish a book about it because the topic offers interesting content and so many facets. But for now, you can visit my website where I published also the first report about one of the asylums.

Over the years, many photographs have been accumulated and I possibly have the opportunity to publish a book about it because the topic offers interesting content and so many facets.

But for now, you can visit my website where I published also the first report about one of the asylums.