Museum of the History of Psychiatry, Reggio Emilia
Museum of the History of Psychiatry (Museo di Storia della Psichiatria) in Reggio Emilia is rather unusual institution: for someone it will be interesting, for others – it will bring on the chilling fear. Here you can learn about the different methods of treatment of patients used in the 19–20 centuries. A lot of exhibits are often cruel tools. The fact that it is situated in the former wing of the psychiatric hospital adds to the atmosphere.
History of the museum
It all started from a selection of literature and documentation by Dr. Zani, who was the director of the San Lazzaro Institute in 1871-1873. His business was continued by the next director, Carlo Livi, in 1875 having collected a very impressive library. The wing of the sanitarium San Lazzaro, where the museum is now located, was built in 1891 to accommodate quiet patients here. In 1911, they began to hold insane criminals. In 1936, the department received the name of the famous criminal psychiatrist Cesare Lombroso. After 1972, the pavilion began to decline. In 1980, an exhibition Il rim del contagio was held here. And in 2011 the building was closed for restoration. On September 30, 2012 the Museum of the History of Psychiatry began the work in the renovated premises.
Exposition of the museum
The museum has distinct character, it conveys all the pain and fear of patients. The exhibition presents scientific, literary materials and therapeutic tools. Through the exhibits you can learn about the life of the hospital. The building itself is a museum. The reconstruction did not affect the initial conformation of the space. There are traces left by man and time here. Particular attention was paid to graffiti performed by patients in the wards, even imprints of the soles of the shoes are left here. Collections of the museum include several thematic parts:
- Archive. Here is a rich clinical archive of 19th and the first half of the 20th century. It is full of medical records with histories of illnesses.
- Science Library. The richest in Italy, it bears the name of Carlo Livi, the former director of the hospital. It preserves 14,500 old original volumes, as well as 150 modern scientific journals. A separate section presents the works of Cesare Lombroso in the field of forensic criminology, there are about 800 of them.
- Instruments of therapy and rehabilitation. In this collection there are a lot of rather inhuman adaptations, discussions about the application of which were carried out for long 70 years. Among them are straitjackets, electric shock machines, the notorious "helmets of silence" for the isolation of patients, an urn of the early 19th century, from which water dripped onto the patient's head, as well as baths for hydrotherapy.
- Scientific laboratories. The original spaces in which they tried to find out the nature of mental deviations. Among them are histological, bacteriological, chemical, anatomical laboratories for vivisection and autopsy.
- Objects of life and creation. About 4000 works, mostly drawings and graffiti made by more than a hundred patients at the hospital are exhibited here.
- Photo. The collection includes 1500 photos that depict the life and history of the hospital from the beginning of the 19th century. Among them are 192 portraits of the patients, performed by the artist Poli, who has stayed here since 1872. And the patient Morini at the time of leaving the hospital in 1908 left 540 of his photographs.
How to get there
The museum is located on the eastern outskirts of Reggio Emilia, in the San Murizio area, on Via Giovanni Amendola, 2. Opposite the building of the museum there is the bus stop San Lazzaro. It can be reached by routes 2, 4, 3I96, 3U02B.
Opening hours: on Saturdays, from 16:00 to 18:00. On weekdays you can enter only on advance booking for groups. Phone number for information and booking: (+39) 0522 456477.
Admission: on Saturday it is free. On weekdays, you need to pay for prior reservation. Data of June 2018.
