Ville Sbertoli
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| Ville Sbertoli | |
|---|---|
| File:Ville Sbertoli view.png Portrait representing the Villas | |
  Location with Pistoia | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Colle Gigliato, Via Solitaria, 51100, Tuscany, Italy |
| Coordinates | 43°57′13.702″N 10°55′5.599″E / 43.95380611°N 10.91822194°E |
| Organisation | |
| Type | Specialist |
| Services | |
| Speciality | Psychiatric hospital |
| History | |
| Opened | 1868 |
| Closed | 1978 |
Building details | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Status | Abandoned |
| Architectural style | Pavilion model |
Ville Sbertoli is the old Lunatic asylum of the city of Pistoia, Tuscany located on Colle Gigliato. In 1868 Agostino Sbertoli bought two patrician villas: Villa Franchini Taviani and Villa Giovacchini Rosati with the intention of creating a house of health for the wealthiest families. The construction began in 1880 and continued in the following years through Nino Sbertoli, Agostino Sbertoli's son. In 1951 Ville Sbertoli became a public psychiatric hospital. Today the complex counts more than 25 buildings. [1]
Location
Ville Sbertoli is an architectural complex surrounded by a park full of trees and exotic plants. The entrance to the Villas is preceded by a gate that can be reached along Via Solitaria; a street characterized by a sinuous course that allows to reach the top of the hill. [1] Villa Franchini Taviani, one of the two villas that first gave life to the complex, is located in an elevated position on the Collegigliato. It had the access on an avenue of cypresses that started from Via di Bigiano and reached the big gate that allowed the access to the garden. Villa Tanzi Lugaro, the second Villa belonging to the initial project, is located on the lower part of the hill and is visible from the town.[2] The buildings that over the years have been added to the two Villas are located in the surrounding area.
History
The beginnings
Villa sbertoli was the private residence of Agostino Sbertoli. The villa had many rooms, dining halls, ballrooms, tennis courts, and a gymnasium. [3]Originally there were two villas, built between 1600 and 1700: Villa Franchini Taviani and Villa Giovacchini Rosati. Agostino Sbertoli, who was a doctor at the San Benedetto mental hospital in Pesaro, bought the two buildings between 1868 and 1876 and turned them into a psychiatric hospital. In 1868 he rented Villa Franchini-Taviani, where the first patient, a 29 year old Florentine man suffering from epilepsy, was hosted, on the 18th of March 1868. From that day on, the hospital started gaining popularity, so this led Sbertoli to acquire both Villa Franchini Taviani and Villa Giovacchini Rosati so as to host more clients. [4] In a few years, patients from all over Europe were being treated in the hospital, so Sbertoli realized that expanding the facility was necessary. This expansion process began in 1880 and continued for about twenty years. Patients were divided into the different buildings according to their gender, social status and the type of illness they presented. The clinic dealt with patients suffering from various mental illnesses, as well as epileptic, alcoholic and hypochondriac people, and this was one of the main reasons why it attracted clients from all over Europe. Many famous psychiatrists worked at the nursing home, such as cesare lombroso, professor of forensic medicine at Torino university and founder of criminal anthropology, and Eugenio Tanzi, who was the director of S. Salvi mental hospytal in Florence.[5] The hospital hosted renowned people such as jurist Francesco Bonaini and poet Severino Ferrari. After the death in 1898 of Agostino Sbertoli, his son Nino inherited his father's work. He expanded the facility, building a power station and a covered hallway to connect the main structure to the other buildings, so that doctors and nurses could move more easily from one place to the other. Nino Sbertoli assigned the direction of the mental hospytal to doctor Giunio Casanova who unified Ville Sbertoli to Ville Casanova creating the “grande sanatorium toscano” which worked until 1919. The following year the building was sold to a private group from Pistoia. [4]
During the World War II
During the fascist period in 1943 and 1944, after that three bombardments struck Pistoia, Repubblica Sociale Italiana authorities moved prisoners from the jail of Pistoia to the mental hospital, turning Ville Sbertoli into a detention center for political prisoners.[3] [6] In 1944 Silvano Fedi and other partisans, who struggled against the fascist regime, attacked the buildings and released 54 males, 3 females and 2 Jews.[7] After the end of the war Ville Sbertoli became a mental hospital again.
From the 1950s until its closure
In 1950 the private group of Pistoia which owned the facility decided to sell it to the province of Pistoia.[4] After that some laws were enacted to regulate asylums and their treatments in a better way, government minister of Italy inspected Ville Sbertoli which were considered not suitable for treating the patients because of his proper medical equipment, poor record management, overcrowding, and decaying premises.[3] In 1978 popular neuropyschiatrist Franco Basaglia made national reforms which caused the closing of all mental hospitals across Italy on May 13th. After 1978 Ville Sbertoli started taking care of other health treatments. These were gradually closed until the total abandonment of the buildings. [8]
Fables about the structure
Throughout the years, many theories have been made about the origins of the structure. One of these fables says the Villa was known to be owned by Sbertoli's family; one of Agostino's sons, presented mental disorders. According to this first theory, the father of this boy, dedicated his whole life to finding some cures that could help his son. His attempts proved to be useless as the boy died. In honor of his death, the father decided to donate all his luxury belongings, including the villa, to whoever could help cure people with the same type of mental disorder as his son. A second theory is the one that has been analyzed on the article: the structure was bought by the doctor Agostino Sbertoli, on the XVIII century in order to both give his son a comfortable place to live and a structure to cure him and as the building became more popular, requests increased leading to the expansion of the structure. [9] [10]
According to stories by people who visited the structure, many of them can still hear screamings coming from inside, moanings, voices and crying which come from the ghosts of the patients that still live there. Many visitors also witnessed that the old piano found on the central hall of the structure is still played by the Sbertoli's son (the one according to the first fable) throughout the day. After visiting the structure, tourists say that they leave is said that a feeling of saddness prevales them as if the old patients wants them to feel the pain they felt living there. [9]
Notable Personalities
Patients
- Severino Ferrari
- Francesco Bonaini
Partisans and patriots
- Alvaro Boccardi
- Valoris Poli
- Aldo Calugi
- Vinicio Giusfredi Lando
Psychiatrists
Architecture
Villa Franchini presents itself as a 21,5 x 17,5 m building, constructed on three floors, and 39 feet height. It is reconducted to typical XVIII century villas, due to its characteristics such as the facade with a three rows windows decorated by balcony formed by an iron railing with the family's logo on top of it.[11]
The building was surrounded by a garden enclosed by a group of columns with flowers boxes on top with an iron gate constructed by the architect Girolamo de Rossi. At the entrance the guests were welcomed by a monument dedicated to Galileo Galilei.[11]
Villa Rosa is a 45 x 10,5 m building, constructed on three floors. On the roof of the building there's a balcony formed by two more balconies which makes the building increase on its 42 feets height. Just like villa Franchini, the construction of Villa Rosati can be also dated to the XVIII century.[11] Surrounded by a garden, to get to the entrance the guests had to go across a straight street up the hill and get through a stone facade.[11]
Today, the interiors are well maintained compared to Villa Franchini: a salon is found both at the ground and first floor both decorated with an iron railing and paintings on the wall.[11]
Expansion of the structure (1880-1919)
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Due to the increasing demand of new patients, the building was expanded. The asylum also known as "casa di salute Sbertoli" was reconstructed with the union of the two villas: Villa Franchini and Villa Rosati.[11] The building was constructed under a specific model (diffused not only in Italy but also in Europe) in which the environment would have been part of the cure for the patients. It consisted in village form of buildings surrounded by gardens which gave the idea of a whole independent community to the people who lived there. The new constructions could also help the owner, Agostino Sbertoli, to allocate the patients. [4]
The unification construction works, started at the end of the XVIII century , specifically in 1880, took 20 years of work, including the building of new blocks connected to the original villas. The first block, previously known as Villa Rosarti, was defined as "Villa di Mezzogiorno" due to its position. It consisted of 50 luxurious apartments, and was dedicated specifically to rich people from both genders. It consisted of a Patients at Villa di Mezzogiorno could join the Sunday mass. [1]
The second block or "Villa di Levante", built in 1880 was dedicated to male patients. It consisted of 24 rooms and included three play rooms and a garden in which patients could spend their time. [4]
Built in 1896, "Villa Centrale" which was then known as Villa Franchini, was divided into different apartments for residential female patients. Females were not the only ones who lived there: they were joined by the director of the institute as well as the female inspector. [4]
In 1884 construction started for another building today known as Villa rossi as well as two more buildings known as "Villini". [4]
They're found next to the buildings of Villa Centrale and Villa Levante, it's where patiens more troubled of both genders found accomodation. They consisted of: six rooms, a bathroom (one shared by all the patients), a gallery and a loft. Patients could enter the building through the main entrance found on the villa Levante with three windows on the back of it. The structure consisted of a long corridor at the ground floor, in which patiens would find their rooms. Since this area was considered as the most disturbing one due to the fact that it was dedicated to patients with chronic disease, very violent, the doors presented a specific feature on the walls and windows: a whole of 5cm was found at the center of it which permitted the soundproofing of each room. At the top floor, were found attics used by the nurses of the building. [4][10]
Also the building of the ex Villa - Franchini was expanded: new constructions consisted of a renewed kitchen, dining room, and a bathroom. The constructions continued in 1893, with the renewing of the entrace which would permit the guests to get immediate access to the center of the villas. Before the rebuilding, the entrance consisted of a tree lined path parallel to via Collegelato but with the renewing of the entrance, guests after crossing the three lined path, would find themselves in front of the gate of Villa Franchini-Taviani's garden. [4]
In 1896 a second villa "Villa Serena" was dedicated to wealthy women patiens; divided into luxury apartaments[4].
Passing of administration (1898-1978)
In 1898, Agostino Sbertoli, the owner of the hospital, went missing. The property passed to his son, Nino: a psychiatrist. He decided to kept going with the construction works of: greenhouses, warehouses, the raising of the Villini buildings and the construction of a corridor which helped connect the management area witht the center of the buildings. [4]
Nino Sbertoli decides to leave the management of the building, handing it to a doctor, Giunio Casanova who decided to join the buildings of ville sbertoli with its own ones "Ville di Casanova", giving birth to a new structure known as Grande Sanantorium Toscano. [4]
The villas today
In 2019, the region of Tuscany signed for program of reconstruction of the strucure however it still hasn't been put in act yet. [12]
Up to this day, the villa is not in a good condition anymore. Due to the fact that there haven't been any renovating actions the building is in phase of collapsing. Inside the rooms which then represented the patients' rooms, are full of drawings such as guns, people or even trees which were drawn by the patients themselves who used mostly bright colors such as green, yellow or blue. [13]
Many documents, waterbottles, medical records, books and machines used to cure the patients are still there accessible to whoever wants to visit it.
Today it si very dangerous to enter the building due to the crumbling of the structure whoever, people who decide to visit it, have to get a specific permit from the ASL (italian health association), known as permit n°3. [14][9]
Treatments
People with various type of mental illnesses were treated in Ville Sbertoli: depression, chronic delirium, manic exaltation, madness, hypochondria, but also alcoholics, epileptics and more. For different illnesses there were different treatments such as the use of electricity to heal slight paralysis, hydrotherapy, the use of ice on the head of the patient, the use of leeches and vesicants on the head and the anus of the sick. [15]
[[Category:Pistoia]]
[[Category:Architecture of Italy]]
[[Category: Italian Villa]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Pistoia]]
[[Category:Italian Gardens]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in Italy]]
[[Category:Asylum]]
[[Category:Reportedly haunted locations in Italy]]
[[Category:Architectural complex]]
[[Category:Historic houses in Italy]]
[[Category:Landmarks of Tuscany]]
[[Category:Scary places]]
[[Category:Mental institution]]
[[Category:Therapy]]
[[Category:Mental Health]]
[[Category:Horror]]
Gallery
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Ville Sbertoli, villa Rosati front view
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Ville Sbertoli, hall
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Piano that according to the fables is still played by Sbertoli's son
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Ville Sbertoli's Kitchen
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Ville Sbertoli archive
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See also
Bibliograhpy
- A. Ottanelli, Le Ville Sbertoli. Da Casa di salute a Ospedale neuropsichiatrico provinciale, Pisa, Pacini Editore, 2013
- A. Stanghellini, Finestra sul lago, Firenze, Marzocco, 1954
- F. Mazzoni, Una storia da non dimenticare. Ricostruzione dell'eccidio della Fortezza di S. Barbara del 31 marzo 1944, Pistoia, Edizioni del Comune di Pistoia, 2015
References
- ^ a b c architetturemanicomiali (2019-01-03). "Casa di salute "Ville Sbertoli" a Pistoia". Architetture maniacali (in Italian). Retrieved 2020-11-01.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Ex manicomio di Pistoia". Essere Altrove.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c morris, cassandra. "This 1800s Building Is Abandoned, But I Was Shocked To Learn What It USED To Be". www.beta.littlethings.com. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Gioffredi, Sara. "Ville Sbertoli a Pistoia. Il manicomio villaggio". www.associazione9cento.wordpress.com. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
- ^ "Casa di salute Ville Sbertoli di Pistoia". www.cartedalegare.san.beniculturali.it. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- ^ Eleni, Mattia. "Le Ville Sbertoli: un manicomio durante l'occupazione nazifascista". www.toscananovecento.it.
- ^ Rossi, Italino (1981). La ripresa del Movimento Anarchico Italiano e la propaganda orale dal 1943 al 1950. Pistoia: Edizioni RL. pp. 133–140.
- ^ Aguano, Martina. "Le Ville Sbertoli - Un Patrimonio per la città" (PDF). Naturart. Giorgio Tesi. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
- ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference
:3was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
:5was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c d e f Daniele, Emilia; Toscana, Associazione dimore storiche italiane Sezione (2004). Le dimore di Pistoia e della Valdinievole: l'arte dell'abitare tra ville e residenze urbane (in Italian). Alinea Editrice. ISBN 978-88-8125-654-9.
- ^ redazionetoscanatoday (2019-05-08). "PISTOIA. Approvato il programma per la rigenerazione del Ceppo e la riqualificazione delle Ville Sbertoli". Toscana Today (in Italian). Retrieved 2020-11-14.
- ^ Tesi, Giorgio (July 2013). "NATURART" (PDF). Trimestrale di Natura, Turismo e Arte sulla provincia di Pistoia. 11: 5 – via Ceppo Ragazzi.
- ^ "Un ex- manicomio abbandonato: Ville Sbertoli". I Rintronauti: due toscani in viaggio (in Italian). 2016-06-25. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
- ^ "Ville Sbertoli". www.urbexsilencevenezia.com. Retrieved 9 June 2019.