Volterra is a beautiful, medieval hilltop town in Tuscany that is incredibly picturesque. Elegant, cinematic, and seemingly untouched by time, it feels as though one has stepped into the past when walking around the pretty cobbled squares and historic buildings. There is a reason that it was chosen as the setting of the Italian headquarters of a very ancient and powerful vampire coven in the movie series based on Stephanie Meyer’s “Twilight” saga. However, beneath this beautiful exterior, there is a lot of darkness and the town of Volterra is steeped in local myth and is home to quite a few macabre attractions. Perhaps, another reason as to why it was chosen as the fictitious home of a group of deadly vampires!
If you are intrigued by the more spooky or creepy things in life, a vacation rental in Volterra is a great idea as it offers all of the charm and typical features of a Tuscan town and Tuscan life, along with some fascinating morbid surprises. Head to the crossbow festival in May, the Jazz festival in August, the delicious truffle fair in October, the horrifying and informative Torture Museum, and the site of a witch trial. Or, you could go and explore the abandoned Ospedale Psichiatrico di Volterra, a crumbling old mental institution that looks upsettingly just like the setting of a very scary horror movie.
If you are intrigued by the more spooky or creepy things in life, a vacation rental in Volterra is a great idea as it offers all of the charm and typical features of a Tuscan town and Tuscan life, along with some fascinating morbid surprises. Head to the crossbow festival in May, the Jazz festival in August, the delicious truffle fair in October, the horrifying and informative Torture Museum, and the site of a witch trial. Or, you could go and explore the abandoned Ospedale Psichiatrico di Volterra, a crumbling old mental institution that looks upsettingly just like the setting of a very scary horror movie.
The Ospedale Psichiatrico di Volterra was not a nice place. In fact, it was eventually closed down due to its cruel treatment of patients and today the eerily empty halls and rooms adorned with art etched into the plaster of walls throughout the building by one patient doomed to being incarcerated in the psychiatric hospital are particularly sinister. Especially as we now know what went on inside those same walls.
Founded in 1888 as a hospital ward for the “demented” in the poorhouse of the former convent of San Girolamo, it was renamed a psychiatric hospital and expanded upon in the 20th century under the direction of Dr. Luigi Scabia. In addition to the hospital, shops, services, an agricultural company, and a judicial section were added with the aim to build an independent village in which patients could feel free and to help tailor specific treatments for each patient that would facilitate an effective return to society after their discharge from the hospital. After Scabia’s death in 1934 the hospital changed management and eventually grew to be one of the largest asylums in Italy in the 50s and 60s.
Founded in 1888 as a hospital ward for the “demented” in the poorhouse of the former convent of San Girolamo, it was renamed a psychiatric hospital and expanded upon in the 20th century under the direction of Dr. Luigi Scabia. In addition to the hospital, shops, services, an agricultural company, and a judicial section were added with the aim to build an independent village in which patients could feel free and to help tailor specific treatments for each patient that would facilitate an effective return to society after their discharge from the hospital. After Scabia’s death in 1934 the hospital changed management and eventually grew to be one of the largest asylums in Italy in the 50s and 60s.
Overcrowding was a serious problem and forced admission and stays became a big issue. You could be readily locked up at the first sign of depression or schizophrenia or due to mere accusations of political or moral transgressions. Patients were very badly mistreated often being given electroshock, put into insulin-induced comas, tested on with pills and poisons, sedated, isolated, and placed into tanks of ice. Patients were imprisoned and were not allowed to communicated with the outside world at all. Thankfully, the hospital was closed in 1978 after Basaglia’s Law was put into place, closing mental hospitals, putting regulations about compulsory treatments into place and effectively instituting the Italian public mental-health system.
The hospital has since become famous due to one patient, named Fernando Oreste Nannetti, (also known as NOF4, NOF, or Nanof) as he carved an elaborate series of words, drawings, and poems into the hospital walls, dodging nurses and doctors to do so. His work is considered to be an example of art brut by the Collection de l’Art Brut Lausanne and was honoured with a Civic Merit from the City of Volterra. He did get to leave the hospital but, sadly, spent the rest of his life between different institutions. More happily, however, his work lives on and remains celebrated.
Located on a hill in a forested area near the centre of Volterra, the asylum was actually reopened and will be once more used to treat patients. It remains, however, a spooky sight to behold and is an interesting spot to take a look at if you are already spending time exploring Volterra and this corner of Tuscany.
The hospital has since become famous due to one patient, named Fernando Oreste Nannetti, (also known as NOF4, NOF, or Nanof) as he carved an elaborate series of words, drawings, and poems into the hospital walls, dodging nurses and doctors to do so. His work is considered to be an example of art brut by the Collection de l’Art Brut Lausanne and was honoured with a Civic Merit from the City of Volterra. He did get to leave the hospital but, sadly, spent the rest of his life between different institutions. More happily, however, his work lives on and remains celebrated.
Located on a hill in a forested area near the centre of Volterra, the asylum was actually reopened and will be once more used to treat patients. It remains, however, a spooky sight to behold and is an interesting spot to take a look at if you are already spending time exploring Volterra and this corner of Tuscany.
