Lost Place in Tuscany: The Horror Sanatorium of Volterra

Nestled in the rolling hills of Tuscany lies a place that could hardly be more picturesque: Volterra. Medieval alleys, alabaster statues, and a Roman theater are among the sights of this small town southwest of Florence. But Volterra has a dark past: On a hill not far from the old town stood Italy's largest psychiatric hospital, where horrific things happened.

The medieval town of Volterra in Tuscany.

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The Ospedale Psichiatrico was founded in 1888 near the San Girolamo Monastery as a ward for the so-called mentally ill. In the early years, there were only around 100 patients, but over the course of the 20th century, thousands were housed there – many against their will. Conditions quickly became catastrophic: isolation, overcrowding, and a lack of medical care.

For many people, life behind the walls meant not healing, but exclusion and suffering. "Those who go to Volterra never return," was the saying about psychiatry. Given the treatment methods of the time, this was no surprise: Until 1978, electroshock, solitary confinement, forced restraints, and ice baths were part of everyday life in the clinics.

The clinic's former washroom.

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Lobotomy, a brain surgery, was also part of the treatment repertoire. It was intended to free patients from their delusions. However, severing the cranial nerves only resulted in them becoming apathetic and emotionless, or in them dying as a result of the surgery.

In the 1950s, Volterra's sanatorium became the largest in the country: a total of 20 buildings were built to house people, along with facilities such as a laundry, workshop, and bakery. Patients were also employed in the construction of the new buildings—as occupational therapy.

In 1958, Fernando Oreste Nannetti arrived in Volterra at the age of 31. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia. In the courtyard of the Ferri building, where he was housed most of the time, "NOF4," as he called himself, tirelessly carved a message into the walls with his belt buckle: words, symbols, and images that spoke of distant galaxies and nuclear threats.

The incised marks of patient Fernando Oreste Nannetti in a wall of the Ferri House.

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Today, the graffiti on the 180-meter-long and two-meter-high wall is considered art. Thanks to one of the nurses, a sculptor noticed it and persuaded Nannetti to make his work accessible to the public. Parts of the wall are now on display at the Art Brut Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Today the clinic is a lost place.

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In the 1970s, a rethinking of the way mentally ill people were treated finally took place: Psychiatrist Franco Basaglia wanted to abolish involuntary commitments and end the inhumane conditions in psychiatric hospitals. He succeeded: In 1978, a law was passed in Italy, commonly known as the "Basaglia Reform." As a result, all psychiatric institutions were forced to close, and patients regained their freedom. Volterra's dark chapter also came to an end.

The former psychiatric hospital is located on a hill outside Volterra's city center, on Viale ex Manicomio. The main buildings are still in their abandoned and increasingly dilapidated state—due to the danger of collapse, it has been impossible to visit them from the inside for several years. The modernized outbuildings, however, are used by the local hospital.

The abandoned psychiatric building.

Source: IMAGO/Dreamstime

To ensure that the ignominious history of psychiatry and the fates of its patients are not forgotten, the "Manicomio di Volterra" (translated: The Insane Asylum of Volterra) project was launched. The website compiles memories, documents, and photos relating to the institution's history. A map provides information on the location of the former buildings, and some can be explored virtually.

A guided tour is also offered on Sundays for €20 per person. However, Google reviews are mixed: Some visitors criticize the tour for consisting only of a lecture and printed photos. They don't get to see the interior of the former psychiatric hospital, which is what makes this lost place so appealing.

Tuscany boasts another worthwhile lost place with a dark past: Villa Sbertoli in Pistoia. The magnificent building is located on Via Collegigliato, with its entrance gate on Via Solitaria. Originally used as a residence, it was expanded in the 19th century and converted into a psychiatric clinic for wealthy patients.

The entrance hall of the abandoned Villa Sbertoli.

Source: IMAGO/Depositphotos

After World War II, the province of Pistoia purchased the property and converted it into a municipal psychiatric hospital. Conditions were hardly better than those in Volterra: overcrowding, poor hygiene, poor treatment options, and dilapidated rooms. This hospital, too, was closed in the mid-1980s as part of the psychiatric reform program; the villas have lain abandoned ever since. Anyone wishing to visit the lost place today requires permission from the local health authority (Azienda Sanitaria Locale).

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