Stolen Childhood: Stories of Children in a Mental Institution
Journal title RIVISTA SPERIMENTALE DI FRENIATRIA
Author/s Giorgio Pini, Carlo Gnetti
Publishing Year 2026 Issue 2026/2
Language Italian Pages 28 P. 181-208 File size 343 KB
DOI 10.3280/RSF2026-002011
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This study offers a historical perspective on the management of neuropsychiatric disorders in children during the first half of the twentieth century and contributes to an understanding of the development of policies and therapeutic and educational practices relating to childhood and adolescence. The research focuses on the Maggiano mental asylum in the province of Lucca, which during the first half of the twentieth century housed a significant number of children with “mental abnormalities” alongside adult patients. In 1935, a new wing was built opposite the main asylum, specifically designed for children up to 15 years of age, and it remained open until 1946. The study examines the years 19311942 analysing disease classification, treatment, length of hospitalisation and mortality. It shows that most admissions were based on diagnoses of intellectual disability, neurological disorders such as epilepsy, and behavioural disorders, often associated with disadvantaged social and economic conditions.
Keywords: Asylum, Children in Asylums, Child Neuropsychiatry, Maggiano, Twentieth Century
Giorgio Pini, Carlo Gnetti, Infanzia rubata: storie di bambini in manicomio in "RIVISTA SPERIMENTALE DI FRENIATRIA" 2/2026, pp 181-208, DOI: 10.3280/RSF2026-002011