Museo laboratorio della Mente

About the museum

The museum is housed in the former psychiatric hospital of Santa Maria della Pietà, on Monte Mario, which the Provincia di Roma opened in 1914 as a “manicomio villaggio” (village asylum): about 150 hectares with 43 buildings, including 29 wards, in operation until 1999. The hospital's historical archive has been protected and promoted since the 1980s.

The museum opened in 2000, and in 2008 it created with Studio Azzurro a new multimedia and immersive route, which in 2010 won the ICOM Italia “Museo dell'anno” award for relations with the public. After renovation work on pavilion 6 and the extension of the route, financed with PNRR and regional funds, the museum reopened in May 2026; it is run by the ASL Roma 1.

The route is built around a long transparent wall and includes sections such as “Entrare fuori uscire dentro”, “Ritratti” (twenty-four paintings from the 1930s by Romolo Righetti), “Inventori di mondi” (the stories of two patients, including a fragment of the graffiti wall of Oreste Fernando Nannetti), “La fabbrica del cambiamento” and “Da vicino nessuno è normale”, with fifty testimonies about psychological distress. The museum also includes the Biblioteca scientifica Alberto Cencelli, with about 13,460 volumes, and the historical archive, which can be consulted by appointment.

Highlights

• Immersive multimedia route by Studio Azzurro
• Portraits by Romolo Righetti from the 1930s
• Fragment of the graffiti wall by Oreste Fernando Nannetti
• Fifty testimonies in the section “Da vicino nessuno è normale”
• Biblioteca Alberto Cencelli and the hospital's historical archive
• Installations “Ricordare il futuro” and “Voci dagli archivi”

Permanent exhibition

• Percorso espositivo permanente – Immersive, multimedia route by Studio Azzurro on the history of the psychiatric hospital, with portraits, testimonies and interactive installations.

Founded

2000

Operated by

ASL Roma 1

Director

Pompeo Martelli

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Admission is free. Groups of more than 5 people must book in advance.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The museum states that the exhibition route and its services are fully accessible.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The museum is in pavilion 6 of the Santa Maria della Pietà park, on the Monte Mario side.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit