In Reggio Emilia, pictures tells the story of former psychiatric hospitals

by Redazione , revealed on 05/09/2026
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From September 27, 2026, to January 6, 2027, the Museum of the History of Psychiatry in Reggio Emilia will host “Manicomi italici,” a pictures challenge by Silvia Camporesi and Luca Marianaccio that emerged from analysis on former psychiatric establishments in Italy.

From September 27, 2026, to January 6, 2027, the Museum of the History of Psychiatry in Reggio Emilia will host *Manicomi italici*, a pictures challenge by Silvia Camporesi and Luca Marianaccio that emerged from analysis on former psychiatric establishments in Italy. The exhibition presents to the general public for the primary time a collection of the work created by way of the “Strategia Fotografia 2025” initiative. The challenge, sponsored by the Civic Museums of the City of Reggio Emilia in collaboration with AUSL RE, brings to the Museum of the History of Psychiatry a photographic exploration of the destiny of former psychological hospitals following the closure of psychiatric hospitals mandated by the Basaglia Law. The opening is scheduled for Sunday, September 27, at 4:30 p.m., as a part of Mental Health Week organized by the Reggio Emilia Local Health Authority (AUSL) – IRCCS. The presentation will characteristic the artists Silvia Camporesi and Luca Marianaccio, curator Cesare Pomarici, and representatives from the establishments.

*Manicomi italici* stems from a survey performed by Camporesi and Marianaccio all through Italy. The analysis examined psychiatric amenities which have since been deserted or remodeled by way of restoration and repurposing initiatives, documenting at the very least one web site in every Italian area. The result’s a mosaic of extremely numerous architectural types and landscapes. The photographed buildings embody historical convents, noble villas, fortresses, agricultural colonies, and enormous monumental complexes, all of which share the frequent historical past of getting served as websites for psychiatric confinement.

Following the closure of psychiatric hospitals mandated by the Basaglia Law, these areas took completely different paths. Some have remained deserted; others have been renovated and repurposed; in different circumstances, the passage of time has left deep traces, remodeling them into true “architectures of memory.” This photographic analysis thus goals to spotlight a still-unresolved presence throughout Italy. Former psychological hospitals proceed to be a part of the city and peri-urban panorama, but their historic and social legacy doesn’t appear to have been absolutely assimilated.

Twenty pictures had been chosen for the exhibition in Reggio Emilia, ten by every artist. The pictures had been chosen from a assortment of over 100 pictures produced through the nationwide analysis challenge.

The exhibition thus represents the first public presentation of a broader challenge, which takes a second kind within the e-book *Manicomi italici*, revealed in 2026 by Quodlibet and scheduled to be unveiled through the exhibition’s run. The e-book consists of an introductory essay by Cesare Pomarici, interviews with the 2 photographers performed by Amelia Rusticali, and a contribution by psychiatrist Paolo Milone, in addition to an in depth assortment of pictures that captures the nationwide scope of the investigation.

“The project,” writes Cesare Pomarici, “documents a representative selection of these complexes, capturing their physical presence, architecture, and relationship with the surrounding landscape. The images go beyond mere documentation: they interrogate the space, reveal the changes in its use following its closure, and bring to the surface a collective memory that remains unresolved. In the background lies the issue that Franco Basaglia and his collaborators brought to light—and which remains highly relevant today: mental health as a social, cultural, and community issue.”

By evaluating deserted websites, restored buildings, and repurposed constructions, *Manicomi italici* examines what stays of a pivotal period within the historical past of Italian psychiatry. The pictures, subsequently, do greater than merely doc the structure of the previous psychological hospitals; they assemble a visible map of transformations nonetheless underway. The heritage depicted by the artists illustrates the transition from an unique perform that’s now out of date to new attainable destinies, starting from preservation to abandonment and reuse.

The challenge was carried out as a part of “Strategia Fotografia 2025,” a public name for proposals promoted by the General Directorate for Contemporary Creativity of the Ministry of Culture and devoted to choosing proposals for the acquisition, commissioning, and promotion of Italian pictures and photographic heritage.

At the tip of the exhibition, the twenty pictures introduced on the Museum of the History of Psychiatry will change into a part of the everlasting collections of the Civic Museums of Reggio Emilia.

“Manicomi italici” might be on view on the Museum of the History of Psychiatry in Reggio Emilia from September 27, 2026, to January 6, 2027. The exhibition is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 3:00 p.m. to six:00 p.m. Admission is free.

In Reggio Emilia, pictures tells the story of former psychiatric hospitals

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