Vincenzo Chiarugi

Vincenzo Chiarugi (1759–1820) was an Italian physician who helped introduce humanitarian reforms to the psychiatric hospital care of people with mental disorders. His early part in a movement towards moral treatment was relatively overlooked until a gradual reassessment through the 20th century left his reforms described as a landmark in the history of psychiatry. He also specialized in dermatology and wrote on other subjects.

Vincenzo Chiarugi was born in Empoli, near Florence. He graduated from the medical school of Pisa in 1780, then moved to Florence to work at the Santa Maria Nuova hospital.

From 1785 to 1788, Chiarugi was director of the Santa Dorotea hospital in Florence, where he outlawed chains as a means of restraint for psychiatric patients. A prior attempt had been made there in the 1750s, but chains softened with canvas strips had been reintroduced.

In 1788, Chiarugi was appointed physician director ("primo infermiere") of the Bonifacio Hospital. Existing since the 14th century, a wing had been rebuilt along his plans, with the internal structure adapted to the specific needs of the patients. The hospital took in the mentally ill as well as invalids (who were typically poor, homeless and unemployed) and patients with skin conditions. Chiarugi was the chief author of new humanitarian regulations for the hospital that were introduced in 1789.

In 1793-1794 Chiarugi's main published psychiatric work, his three volume On Insanity and Its Classification (Della Pazzìa in Genere e in Specie), was published in Florence. He also published works on dermatology and agriculture, and a book about his home town.

In 1802 Chiarugi became professor of dermatology and mental diseases, and later professor of physiology, pathology, and "materia medica" at the medical school of Florence. He continued his work of reform and of teaching until his death in 1820.

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