The first public ordinance providing for hospitalization of people with mental illness was enacted in Tuscany, Italy, as part of the reforms instituted by the Grand Duke Peter Leopold I. In 1785, he ordered construction of the Hospital of St. Bonifacio, where the director, Vincenzo Chiarugi, instituted humane standards of care. The first patients were admitted on March 19, 1788.

Type of event: Policy or Regulation

Country: Italy

Region: Europe and the former USSR