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Surveillance and Redemption: The Casa di Correzione of San Michele a Ripa in Rome (From Institutions of Confinement: Hospitals, Asylums, and Prisons in Western Europe and North America, 1500-1950, P 301-324, 1996. Norbert Finzsch, Robert Jutte, eds. - See NCJ-171744)

NCJ Number
171748
Author(s)
L Cajani
Date Published
1996
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This chapter analyzes the history of a specific house of correction in Rome between 1703 and 1854.
Abstract
The analysis of this particular house of correction concentrates on the microhistory of its daily routines, in line with the theory that understanding institutions of confinement requires detailed knowledge of what goes on inside, of social relations from the bottom up and from within. The Casa di Correzione was a prison, with a cellular structure and noteworthy architecture, that was reserved exclusively for minors. Inside the institution, the concept of punishment was joined with that of rehabilitation, which was to be achieved through work and a disciplined life style based on isolation at night and silence during the day. These elements were later developed in the context of enlightened criminal reforms, and were brought together for the first time in an architectural structure conceived for that specific purpose. The chapter includes details of the institution's architecture, the principles that inspired the design, uses of interior structures, and how later architects and planners drew inspiration from the original corrections house. Notes, figures, tables