Basaglia was originally from Venice, where he was imprisoned as a teenager for belonging to the resistance. He studied medicine and psychiatry in Padua and developed his innovative activity in northern Italy, conceiving a new type of relationship with the “mentally ill”, who were to be seen as citizens and people. With this in mind, he succeeded in clamouring to close the asylum in Trieste in 1979, with repercussions at national and international level. In this chapter, we will deal with the Italian case, emphasizing Law 180 (the ‘Basaglia Law’) which was passed in 1978, the principles that guided it, and its application up to the present day. This has not been without its challenges. Basaglia’s work, as already mentioned, was echoed internationally: it was now certain that the asylums could be closed. The Portuguese and UK cases are specifically dealt with here, with a focus on deinstitutionalisation and, with it, the dignification of the “mentally ill”, in the broader context of the defence of human rights.