The St. Clement’s Asylum at Venice
113 / ‘ Art x.?.
We have received from the Medical Director of the ” Frenocomio Centrale Femminile di S. Clemente” (the Central Lunatic Asylum for Women of St. Clement), near Venice, some inte- resting statistical accounts of the progress of this excellent institution during the three years 1874 to 1876. Our space does not permit us here to reproduce the details of these valuable accounts; suffice it to say, that in this Asylum the usual number of patients is about GOO, and that, upon an average in the course of a year, some 100 or 120 patients are discharged cured. We think, however, that the following short description of the Asylum will interest our readers:?
The Asylum of St. Clement is situated upon one of the islands in the ” laguna viva,” about a mile and a half distant from the Piazzetta by the Ducal Palace. The colossal buildings of which it is formed were purchased by the authorities of the Venetian Province for the sum of 3,000,000 francs (?120,000). For the interior arrangement of the Asylum the celebrated Lunatic Asylum at Vienna served as a pattern. Altogether there are five different divisions in the building. Four of these are deter- mined by the nature of the insanity from which the patients suffer, and occupy the main buildings; they are the following, viz.: one for epileptics, one for excited patients, one for noisy but otherwise harmless patients, and one for so-called ” dirty” cases. The inmates of all these divisions are indigent, and differ in this from the fifth division, which contains patients better situated in a pecuniary sense. The bedrooms, dining halls, drawing and sitting rooms of the entire establishment are extremely well furnished, spacious, well lighted, and provided with every comfort. The sanitary arrangements are perfect, and the Medical Director, Cav. Dr Cesare Vigna, spares no trouble in making all the most modern improvements recom- mended by progressive science. In the last few years he has added several new apartments, as a special apartment for patients convalescent from somatic diseases, a new central sur- gery, a special building for servants and keepers; there is also in course of construction a bath house for hydrotherapeutical treatment, which will contain 19 douches of different kinds, 10 large general baths, 6 separate bath rooms, a steam bath, &c. Dr Vigna also intends to establish a branch Asylum for the occasional transfer of patients, and an anatomical hall for dis- sections and microscopical observations.
Most of the patients originating from the poorer classes, and those whose mental state permits them to work, are regularly employed in their former occupations. These working patients are divided into a number of classes according to the nature of their work, and this forms a source of some income to the Asylum (about ?200 net profit per annum). More than half the number of workers are needlewomen, others assist in the kitchens of the Asylum, while again others are laundresses, weavers, artificial flower makers, plaster statuette makers, &c.; some 20 are charwomen, and a similar number find work in the poultry yard and garden belonging to the establishment. I)r. Vigna, in his treatment of the various forms of mental disease, has, we are glad to say, almost entirely abolished the use of restraint, and only recurs to it in cases of the utmost necessity, where patients can by no other means be prevented from doing bodily harm to themselves or others. This is all the more commendable since only a few years ago the frequent use of the ” strait waistcoat ” and ” force chair ” was common all over Italy?indeed, over the whole of the South of Europe? and is, we believe, still the order of the day in the Asylums of Spain, Portugal, and the Ottoman Empire. Most of the attendants and keepers at St. Clement’s Asylum are Sisters of Mercy, and the quiet and unassuming way in which they perform their often unenviable duties, the patience they show to even the most trying patients, and the conscientiousness with which they execute all orders given to them by the medical officers, are spoken of in the highest terms of praise by Dr Vigna. The Asylum of St. Clement’s has one particular advantage over other establishments of the kind, which it obtains from its peculiar local position, i.e. the almost total absence of all chances for the escape of the patients. The site it occupies is, as previously stated, an island, about a quarter of a mile in cir- cumference, with only one point of approach for barques and gondolas. The whole of the island is surrounded by a wall 8 feet in height, and for additional safety the 900 large windows of the establishment are all provided with iron railings, which, however, by their elegant shape, preclude all ideas of imprison- ment or seclusion. The views from most of these windows are particularly charming, comprising the fine marine scenery round Venice, the glorious panorama ot the city itself, with its fine palaces, domes, and steeples, the pleasant “Public Park,” and the well-known sea-bathing village called ” 11 Lido “; while in the other direction an extensive view of the lagoons is obtained, with the steeples of Malamocco, Pellestrina, and Chioggia, and the Euganeian Mountains (near Padua) in the distance. These views can also be enjoyed from the gardens of the establishment, numerous stone steps in the enclosing wall permitting the patients to look over it. Altogether the Asylum of St.
Clement is one of the best establishments of the kind, not only on the whole continent, but in the world, with regard to its interior sanitary and administrative arrangements as well as with regard to its pleasant and healthy situation, and, most important of all, the general efficiency of its Medical Director, officers, and attendants, from whom we received the greatest courtesy and attention during our visit.
Disclaimer
The historical material in this project falls into one of three categories for clearances and permissions:
Material currently under copyright, made available with a Creative Commons license chosen by the publisher.
Material that is in the public domain
Material identified by the Welcome Trust as an Orphan Work, made available with a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
While we are in the process of adding metadata to the articles, please check the article at its original source for specific copyrights.