The psychiatric Hospital of Teramo (Via Aurelio Saliceti, 16), named after saint Antony the Abbot, was the biggest psychiatric hospital in central and southern Italy. The first traces of this complex date back to the middle ages, while the modern structure is the result of several improvements made towards the 19th century. Today, with its 22,000 square metres, it represents approximately 1/8 of the old town of Teramo. The psychiatric section was opened in July 1881 and finally closed in March 1998. After the birth of the new Hospital of Teramo "Vittorio Emanuele III", in 1925, the whole structure of Sant'Antonio Abate was turned from general hospital into psychiatric hospital, recording in 1931 about 1000 patients. It is a very significant number if you consider that the population of the historic centre of Teramo was no more than 9000 inhabitants at that time. On June 7th 1925, the Italian Psychoanalytic Society (SPI), which still exists today, was founded by the Director Marco Levi Bianchini inside the same psychiatric hospital. Even today, along Via Aurelio Saliceti there is a tablet in memory of this event.
- Photos by ti.evil|izzotracs.acul#izzotracS acuL (December 2012)
- Locate the item on this Google Maps
Related items
Bibliography
- Fabrizio Primoli, L'Ospedale Psichiatrico di Teramo, in "La domenica d'Abruzzo", Teramo, ottobre 2011