In this paper the author describes the project entitled "Papers to be tied". The protection of Psychiatric Archives in Italy, promoted by the Directorate general for Archives of the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities. The project started at the end of the 90’s, when the Psychiatric Hospitals were dismissed, in order to guarantee their historical memory through the protection of the archives. The initiative achieved important results and led to the inclusion of the the archives’ characteristics in the "Sistema informativo unificato delle Soprintendenze archivistiche" as well as the development of a web Portal that serves to disseminate information and grant protected access to the medical records.