Today, we ventured a bit outside of Florence and visited a former Psychiatric Hospital named San Salvi. The bus ride was a little treacherous, instead of 5 minutes it took 40! But the knowledge we gained from touring the hospital was worth the journey. We began by listening to the tour guide explain the history of the hospital. Opening in 1891, the hospital was used to confine the mentally ill of the time. We watched a video that showcased the horrors and inhumane conditions of those who were deemed “unfit for society”. Many of those people found in this hospital were marginalized: women who were “eccentric”, people on the spectrum, the LGBTQ+ community, and those with mental illness. It was a harrowing video; sadness covered the faces of people in the video and the environment they were in was dirty and unlivable. The hospital was finally closed down in 1978, opening the doors for those who have been trapped in the hospital for years. They had footage from the celebratory day, where people from the neighborhood gathered around in a square and painted a beautiful mural on a wall to commemorate the freedom of the former patients. After absorbing the history of the building, we walked around and saw the reality of what many experienced during this time. The walls were so high, and the spaces for the patients were claustrophobically small. Seeing the environment these people were in was upsetting. As a psychology major, I learn all about the different types of mental disorders, and the uncomfortable reality for many who suffer from them. People who have these disorders do not make them less than. The conditions of San Salvi are a stark reminder that whether the person is going through physical pain or mental pain, they are still human. Being in Italy and learning about the history of this hospital also shows that this didn’t just happen in one place but was a universal problem. Arguably, aspects of the conditions are still prevalent today in prisons, mental hospitals, and society in general. Hopefully, more people will want to change the stigma and unfair treatment of marginalized people and gain more empathy for those that may be a little different than others. I am looking forward to learning more about psychology in an Italian setting during my last 2 weeks of studying abroad.