The island of San Servolo is located off the coast of Italy. Today, its primary function is housing a museum to its rather disturbing past.
The museum used to be hospital that was founded in the 18th century and was first designated to serve wounded military troops.
By the first part of the 19th century, however, it had become a “morocomio,” or a institution for the insane.
Interestingly, the asylum was a religious facility, under the management of an ancient religious order known as San Giovanni di Dio, an order long known for its medical expertise.
One of the key methods of treatment for their insane patients was absolute isolation and repression, which made the island setting perfect.
The order taught the practice of what they called “moral treatment,” which included practices that border on brutal by today’s standards.
