Manicomio di VG, Italy

Manicomio di VG is an abandoned and decaying Italian asylum. It was built in the late 1870s, in the neoclassical style. It was surrounded by beautiful Italian gardens, the entire site covers 80,000 square meters. It was built on the site of an ancient Franciscan monastery. The institution was far outside any town, a distinct border between the “insane” and the “civilised” society. Those afflicted with mental health disorders were hidden away from society, out of sight and out of mind.

The hospital has been abandoned since the late 1990s. Over 1000 patients were admitted to the asylum over the years, and around 400 staff worked there. 

“The Rotunda of the Furious”

One of the most interesting areas is “The Rotunda of the Furious”, a long curved corridor forming a semi-circular wing. Patients were contained in cell-like rooms, with only narrow slits to let light in. The tiny solitary confinement rooms had no corners and would have been very dimly lit. These cells were for dangerous patients, also called “agitated patients”. They would be tied to the bed and locked up in these rooms for 23 hours a day, to protect themselves and others.

The “Crazy Dancer”

There are tales of one notable Manicomio di VG character from the 1970s and 1980s. This man had a love of dancing, and would escape under cover of darkness and shadows on a Saturday night. He would elope to a faraway town by hitching a ride. The townsfolk had come to recognise the “Crazy Dancer”, and would often take him back to the asylum. He would buzz the intercom and be let inside, only to escape again next time. Tales such as these breathe life into the walls (whether or not they are embellished truth, or entirely mythical in nature).

The Loving Spouses

Another touching story is of the two patients who found love within this terrible place. In the second half of the 20th Century, changes in the law removed the need to segregate patients based on their sexes. Two people met, and fell in love within these solemn corridors. They are said to have been married in the hospital chapel, and shared a room together once wed. They would take walks around the garden, hand-in-hand. It is said this continued until they were old and grey, but there is no mention of if they eventually found their freedom or died together behind these walls. A heart-warming tale of love blossoming through adversity.