Sanus egredieris. Storie di minori nel manicomio di Girifalco (1881-1894)

This paper aims to study the 47 medical records of children hospitalized in the insane asylum of Girifalco (Catanzaro) from 1878, when the hospital was founded, to 1894. Through information collected in the medical records, it has been possible to think about the meaning of the idea of deviance; learn about children's reactions to hospitalization; emphasize the instrumental use of the institution by relatives; determine "the imaginary patients", that is, when the disease and the sick person are the result of social rather than clinical circumstances; understand the dialogue between the patient and the external world.