The Arezzo psychiatric hospital was established in the late 19th-early 20th century. In 1927 the famous psychiatrist Arnaldo Pieraccini was called upon to direct it. Attentive to social problems and the needs of patients, he turned it into an avant-garde institution. The hospital has been at the centre of intense activity in research aimed at reforming facilities for the mentally ill.

Today a part of the university, it keeps intact its original configuration: the central plaza, in a park, is bounded by the imposing building with its clock, flanked by the other structures. The clock, its original clockworks still in place, presents a small enamelled adjustment dial. It was installed a few years after the building was erected, as stated on the plaque mounted on the frame, which reads "Tipo originale C. Marziali e F. premiati tecnici costruttori – Firenze 1921" [Original type C. Marziali and F. prize-winning engineers constructors – Florence 1921]. Inside the university building is a library, with wooden bookcases and an upper balcony, which contains numerous texts and journals of psychiatric interest, dating from the middle of the 19th century to the 1950s.