ABSTRACT
Over time the sharp ideological edge to the polemics about law 180 has been somewhat dulled. There is now an apparently more pragmatic attitude in most quarters, and a general admission that for all its problems (whether resulting from flaws in its conception, or lapses in and obstacles to its implementation) the law has survived, and remains the framework for delivering mental health services. Even if it was never adequate as a blueprint, the law moreover has brought Italy more into line with psychiatric developments elsewhere.
