I manicomi in Lombardia tra scienza e diritto. Gli alienisti milanesi e l’urgenza di una riforma

The essay provides a historical analysis of the origins of psychiatry by examining the contributions of prominent Milanese alienists. Their contributions to the enhancement of conditions in Lombardy’s asylums, as well as their endeavours to establish judicial asylums, are analysed herein. The essay provides a concise historical reconstruction of the sequence of directors of the Milanese asylums, highlighting the contributions of Verga, Biffi, Castiglioni and Antonini. A cross-section of the reality of the late 19th and early 20th century is reconstructed through a number of unpublished documents conserved in the Historical Archives of Italian Psychiatry, which highlight the confrontation and clash between science and law regarding the role of psychiatry and asylums in the guilty madmeninsane and insane offenders.