ASYLUM FOR WOMEN
COSTANZO, Gaetano.
Qualche considerazione sui mezzi curativi adoperati nel ripartimento delle donne al manicomio di Palermo …
Palermo, Giovanni Lorsnaider, 1876.
8vo, pp. 38; lightly toned; very good in original green printed wrappers; some slight wear to spine and corners.
Added to your basket:
Qualche considerazione sui mezzi curativi adoperati nel ripartimento delle donne al manicomio di Palermo …
Very rare first and only edition of this fascinating treatise on the care of women at the asylum for the insane in Palermo, by its chief medical officer Dr Gaetano Costanzo.
The pioneering Real Casa dei Matti di Palermo was founded in 1824 by Baron Pietro Pisani, and was one of the earliest dedicated psychiatric facilities in Europe. Costanzo, who had previously served in the asylum as a consultant, here shows real sympathy for the plight of his charges.
Citing numerous cases from his own experience, Costanzo here considers the following important topics in the treatment of the insane: the use of isolation, cold showers or baths, and straitjackets; the importance of dialogue between doctor and patient, visits by family members, and visits by the curious public (which he condemns); clothing, suitable work activities, and the use of theatre and music; and the employment of drugs, including potassium bromide, chloral hydrate, opium, and bismuth oxynitrate.
Not on OCLC; ICCU finds only two copies (Florence and Palermo).
