The book presents the results of an ethnographic study examining the post-deinstitutionalized organization and provision of acute mental health care in Italy. While the achievements of the “Basaglia law” which imposed the closure of psychiatric hospitals in Italy in 1978 have been well-documented, this book sheds fresh light on its aftermath and possible continuing influence. The author examines two Italian regions – Piedmont and Friuli Venezia Giulia (internationally known to be the first Italian region to close down asylums) – respectively as representatives of the...

The book presents the results of an ethnographic study examining the post-deinstitutionalized organization and provision of acute mental health care in Italy. While the achievements of the “Basaglia law” which imposed the closure of psychiatric hospitals in Italy in 1978 have been well-documented, this book sheds fresh light on its aftermath and possible continuing influence. The author examines two Italian regions – Piedmont and Friuli Venezia Giulia (internationally known to be the first Italian region to close down asylums) – respectively as representatives of the...