Anyone come in, everyone get out. The walls still show the perimeter, but today the boundaries are permeable and the gates are always open. The former Paolo Pini psychiatric hospital is located in the heart of Affori, a working-class area in the northern suburb of Milan. It has been the focus of an important urban regeneration project run by Olinda Association since 1999. Olinda started a process of regeneration of the area and social-occupational inclusion of former patients with mental disabilities, making the former hospital a place open to the citizens. When Olinda social gym was set up in 2007, sport has become a tool to overcome social barriers. The prices are affordable and the teachers are truly passionate about sport. Fulvio set up the boxing classes and Celestino, a former boxer, commits himself to the training of many teens on the boxing ring.
- Irene Fassini