conference on ‘ Fascism ’ s Forgotten Victims : the interned LGBT people in Italian psychiatric hospitals between 1922 and 1943 ’. By analyzing both psychiatric theories and archival records from three Italian mental institutions , Romano provided a nuanced understanding of how medical professionals navigated the tension between scientific practice and fascist ideology . The subject of her talk succeeded in sparking the interest of the attendees — students and scholars alike — whose questions underscored the importance of further investigating the thought-provoking but under-researched role of psychiatry in the repression of homosexuality under Fascism .

Following the organisation of her most recent book , Italian Fascism ’ s Forgotten LGBT Victims : Asylums and Internment , 1922-1943 , Romano started her conference by giving an overview of 19th and 20th century Italian psychiatry and the ways in which homosexuality was consequently “ pathologised ”. Romano stressed the importance of European influences on the development of Italian psychiatry , such as that of the Austrian thinker Otto Weininger , who claimed that all people were made of a mixture of male and female substance , describing the male part as active , productive , conscious and moral and the female part passive , unproductive , unconscious and amoral . Weininger ’ s theory of Sex and Character laid the basis for the sexualization of political beliefs and fueled the fascist theories that considered homosexuality as a degenerative behaviour .

In Italy , the theories of Cesare Lombroso remained ubiquitous throughout all the Ventennio . Lombroso argued that criminals and “ deviants ” ( including homosexuals ) had abnormal physical traits that revealed biological degeneration and social deviance , thus reinforcing the belief that homosexuality was a sign of degeneracy and biological inferiority . Even as endocrinology and neurology gained prominence , the idea of homosexuality as an inherent defect remained dominant , ultimately leading to the marginalisation of Italian psychiatry within the broader European scientific community , as it rejected more nuanced and progressive understandings of human sexuality emerging elsewhere .

Romano then presented her extensive archival investigation into the practical implementation of psychiatric theories in three Italian asylums , wisely chosen for their diversity : Santa Maria della Pietà in Rome , San Salvi in Florence , and Girifalco near Catanzaro . Through a meticulous analysis of patient records , Romano reconstructs the lived experiences of individuals who were interned due to their sexual orientation or gender nonconformity .

One of the book ’ s most striking findings is that psychiatrists , despite being pressured by authorities and families , often resisted fully endorsing the fascist regime ’ s view of homosexuality as a societal danger . Many medical professionals interned homosexuals reluctantly and , in some cases , actively argued against their classification as mentally ill . In Rome , for example , asylum records indicate that doctors frequently noted that homosexual patients posed no real threat and even advocated for their early release .

At the same time , psychiatric institutions did not outright refuse to intern homosexuals . Many cases were initiated by family members , local community representatives , or law enforcement , who viewed psychiatry as a mechanism for enforcing social and moral conformity when other coercive methods failed . While the medical profession may not have been fully aligned with fascist ideology , it nevertheless played a role in upholding its oppressive structures . The fear of internment itself became a powerful deterrent , forcing many LGBT individuals into secrecy and self-censorship .

The Legacy of Fascist Psychiatry

Another significant theme in the book is the gendered aspect of psychiatric repression . While male homosexuality was frequently discussed and documented , lesbianism was largely ignored or dismissed . Romano suggests that this omission was not accidental but rather a reflection of the broader fascist ideology that sought to erase female sexual agency altogether . The absence of recorded cases of lesbian internment does not necessarily mean that women were not subjected to similar forms of repression ; rather , it indicates that their experiences were often rendered invisible by the medical and legal systems .

By Lara Bonetti ( She / Her ) // Italian Editor

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