Punishing, Reforming and Re-inserting: Prison Institutions between Criminal Science, Penitentiary Law, Prison Administration, Work, Health Treatment and Architecture: Three Case Studies in the «Island of Punishment» in the Kingdom of Italy (the Penal Bath of San Bartolomeo, the Penal Colony of Castiadas and the Buoncammino Prison)
The main purpose of the project is to measure the distance between the objectives and the results obtained by criminal law legislation. The proposal stems from the need to carry out a historical study on the key issues of criminal law and penitentiary law that is not limited to the analysis of the main proposals on criminal systems, penitentiary models of reference or on the content of the legislative and regulatory activity (criminal laws, penitentiary regulations). The need has emerged for an investigation that takes
into consideration the main variables which have influenced the way in which prison sentences were executed and its effects on the final outcome.
The objective of the proposal, starting from a legal-historical perspective, is to verify if the execution of the sentences allowed to obtain the advantages that the doctrine of that time recognized in the different forms of detention. For this reason, the proposal reserves considerable space to prison treatment in relation to the greater effectiveness in terms of deterrence, social defense, graduality, the tendency toward humanization, individualization and specialization, the “emenda” the moral recovery of offenders and economy.
Consequently, it will also be necessary to carry out an analysis of the quality and quantity as well as productivity of prison work (afflictive, fruitful or educational). In addition, the adoption of hygienic and sanitary standards for prisoners and the exploitative nature of this resource will also be taken into consideration. Furthermore, it will be necessary to carry out an examination of the places of punishment from the architectural and functional point of view in order to verify the real achievement of the
predetermined aims. The recent acquisition of an impressive archival documentation concerning the three main prison structures in the area of Cagliari during the Kingdom of Italy (the penal bath of San Bartolomeo, the penal colony of Castiadas and the prison of Buoncammino) offers the opportunity to carry out a multidisciplinary historical study, articulated on three main areas of investigation: the first studies the scientific and political debate on the efficacy of punishment, on penitentiary systems and on the containment of crime; the second examines the relationship between punishment and work from an economic and hygienic-sanitary point of view; the third examines the architectural structures and prison construction of the places designated for the execution of punishment and work (forced and not).
Finally, it should be considered that the three case studies, connected in an ideal chain, where territorially located in the “island of punishment”. In fact, the insularity of Sardinia, and this powerful logistical resource, explain the number and variety of prison facilities in this region and the attribution of that name.