Ricerc@Sapienza

Since ancient times, the most frequently prescribed remedy for the
treatment of tuberculosis was a stay in a temperate climate. From
the middle of the 19th century to the middle of the 20th, Europe
saw the development of sanatoria, where patients were able to
benefit from outdoor walks, physical exercise and a balanced
diet. Moreover, the institutionalisation and isolation of patients
deemed to be contagious remains one of the most efficacious
measures for the control of this type of infection. The first sanatorium
opened in Germany in 1854, while in Italy the earliest experiments
were conducted at the beginning of the 20th century. At
that time, it was widely believed in Italy that pulmonary tuberculosis
could improve in a marine climate. By contrast, the scholar
Biagio Castaldi described the salubrious effects of mountain air
and documented a lower incidence of tuberculosis among mountain
populations, which supported the hypothesis of a hereditary
predisposition to the disease. In 1898, several local committees
(Siena, Pisa, Padua) were founded to fight tuberculosis. The following
year, these gave rise to the Lega Italiana (Italian League)
under the patronage of the King of Italy, which helped to promote
state intervention in the building of sanatoria.
The pioneer of the institution of dedicated facilities for the treatment
of tuberculosis was Edoardo Maragliano in Genoa in 1896.
A few years later, in 1900, the first specialised hospital, with a
capacity of 100 beds, was built in Budrio in a non-mountainous
area, the aim being to treat patients within their habitual climatic
environment. In the following years, institutes were built in Bologna,
Livorno, Rome, Turin and Venice. A large sanatorium for the
treatment of working-class patients was constructed in Valtellina
by the fascist government at the beginning of the century, in the
wake of studies by Eugenio Morelli on the climatic conditions of
the pine woods in Sortenna di Sondalo, which he deemed to be
ideal. In December 1916, the Italian Red Cross inaugurated the
first military sanatorium in the “Luigi Merello” maritime hospice
in Bergeggi (SV) to treat soldiers affected by curable tuberculosis.
In 1919, a specific law mandated a 10-fold increase in funding for
the construction of dispensaries and sanatoria. As a result, the
Provincial Anti-tuberculosis Committees were transformed into
Consortiums of municipal and provincial authorities and anti-TB
associations, with the aim of coordinating the action to be undertaken.
In 1927, the constitution of an Anti-tuberculosis Consortium
in every province became a legal obligation.
Despite this growth in social and healthcare measures, tuberculosis
in Italy continued to constitute a major public health problem
until the advent of antibiotics in the 1950s. Until that time, the
sanatorium played a leading role in the treatment of tuberculosis
in Italy, as in the rest of Europe.