Photos of a Punk Scene You Never Knew Existed

This article originally appeared on VICE Italy.

During Benito Mussolini's regime, from 1922 to 1943, thousands more Italians were imprisoned in asylums than ever before – often for simply not conforming to the government's definition of morality. But it wasn't until 1978 that the Italian government officially passed the Mental Health Act, banning all independent Italian psychiatric hospitals, where patients lived in complete isolation.

However, shutting these hospitals down completely – and replacing them with psychiatric wards in regular hospitals – was a slow and gradual process. For example, it took 20 years for the Pisani asylum in the Sicilian city of Palermo to close down.

A while before it closed, in January of 1986, a major concert was held in the hospital, as a way to celebrate Italy's progressive shift. The five-hour punk and rock concert was titled "Qualcuno volò sul nido del cu", which translates to a play on the title of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Not everyone responded well to the initiative, as mental illness was still considered taboo across much of Italian society at the time. Newspaper articles about the concert featured headlines like, "Rock for the deranged", and "A concert for crazy lonely people".

The show was co-organised by Letizia Battaglia, a famous Sicilian photojournalist who has documented Italian counterculture since the 1970s. Speaking to local press at the time of the concert, Battaglia said: "Alienation not only affects the mentally ill, but anyone who lacks a space to freely exchange ideas. These kids are incredibly brave for performing in an asylum."

One of those kids was Fabio Sgroi, who performed at the concert with his punk band, MG. As well as performing, the now 53-year-old photographer took some pictures that night, which are featured in his new book, Palermo 1984-1986, Early Works.

The counterculture scene in Palermo was still relatively new and small at the time, and largely split between punks and goths. "Friction between groups was rare," Sgroi tells me. "We all knew each other because we had to hang out together in the few bars in the city that welcomed us. Those were the days of Mafia killings, constantly patrolling police helicopters hanging in the sky and deserted streets at night. This was the system we were rejecting." Palermo 1984 - 1986, Early Works is published by Yard Press and is now available on the publisher’s website. Scroll down to see more photos from the book.