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This "state village for the feeble-minded" (as it was called) opened in 1920, catering to girls and women with developmental disabilities or stricken with epilepsy. Although the hospital closed in 1998, the buildings have been continually monitored and maintained. Access to this recreation hall was surprisingly easy, considering the frequent security patrols inside the building.
Stepping inside the echoing hall, everything looked to be in good order except for some dust and a bit of peeling paint. Exit signs glowed in the distance... this space was definitely not abandoned; perhaps a better term would be "disused."
I had been pouring copious amounts of research into abandoned places in Italy before returning this year, especially 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, and 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.
