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I had been pouring copious amounts of research into abandoned places in Italy for my second visit to the country, especially regarding the former psychiatric hospitals (of course). A funny thing happened though... I had discovered a small abandoned complex consisting of two buildings in a rural town while looking at some maps. Nothing special, as there are plenty of these kinds of ruins scattered along the countryside, but I marked it down just in case I'd be driving by.
Then one day I found myself in the area, after a disappointing scouting trip to a handful of places that were being torn down. I pulled up to a tall wrought iron gate - a faded sign contained the words "ospedale psichiatrico," psychiatric hospital... the rusty gate had been locked shut for some years. What amazing luck to have found this! The place was surrounded by a stone wall to prevent escape, but a small hole that had been smashed out - that definitely meant running in to catch the place in the fading sunset.
The inside of the hospital was cold and quiet, like a tomb painted in browns. The stairs were mangled by heavy objects being dragged out in a real hurry...
Paperwork and medication was also strewn about as if some epidemic forced everyone to run for their lives.
Below is a prescription for Haldol amongst the dust-laden bottles and tourniquets.
Walking into the chapel was like stepping into a painting that could have been a surreal underwater scene.
Among the myriad of scratches and names in the walls of the wards were various dates being subtracted from 1993 - assumedly the date of closure. The product could then be the number of years some of the patients have been residing behind these walls.
Full set of photos coming in the future...
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It looks like it's going to be a good one.
Thanks for the Preview.
I'm also very jealous of you Motts, to be able to travel at all is an amazing thing. You are very lucky!
I also have a question for you... in your travels, do you ever intend to visit Pripyat, in Russia to take a tour of the city? I have seen pictures of the place, but nothing recent, it looks like it might be cool to see.
Marie, thank you, I used to work near the Kings Park psych center, so upon stumbling onto the abandoned parts of the campus in 2003, I felt like I needed to know what was inside. Then I found other places out there like it, and other people who enjoy the same things as I, so I didn't have to go alone all the time :-)
I moved to the UK when I was very little, and was told by my mother that I am not to return to Italy before the age of 18.
I turned 18 yesterday, so there is now a massive smile on my face, and dreams of returning to Italy,
Can't wait to see the gallery Motts,
Thankyou so much,
Giorgia
I love these motts. thank you
It looks like that one chair got sick and blew chunks.
I can't wait to see the whole gallery of pictures...!!! Thanks for all your work.
If anything odd happens? (ie: unexplainable noises, things moving) Just talk out loud to anyone who might still be "present". Tell them you are using the tools or contraptions in your hands to record their memory so they will not be forgotten. They may not know what a camera is, which is why I say "tool". They still may not understand if their mental capacities were limited, but.....just your tone of voice should help.
Enjoy every minute of it. And thanks for letting the rest of us see such wonderful places. Well, wonderful structures.....even if it was a hard place for past patients to be in.
P.S.: I play in a rock band and your photos would fit our style...is it possible to use one of your picture as the cover of our record (of course giving you full credits)?