During the World Psychiatric Association Action Plan 2014–2017, it was agreed that, in order to foster communication between researchers from different parts of the world, attempts would be made to have key papers translated from other languages into English. The present issue is such an attempt to have key papers translated from Italian to English. Inevitably lots of research already gets published in English, but the papers included in this issue have not been previously published in English. The selection of papers remains a personal choice, as the guest editors decide what is of interest to international readers. Furthermore, the translation and selection of papers reflect not only the history of Italian psychiatry, with its key contributions from use of Electro-convulsive Therapy to family therapies, and deinstitutionalization of old asylums. In addition, the writings on phenomenology and psychopathology and contributions to biological psychiatry highlight longstanding contributions to international psychiatry. Basaglia’s seminal contribution to changes in practice of institutional psychiatry has influenced closure of asylums in many countries, especially in Brazil. Fiorillo and Maj’s paper on the role psychiatry does, and indeed must, play in the practice of medicine is an important contribution. The contribution by Cazzullo, emphasizing the importance of schizophrenia in psychiatry, explains why it is vital to have accurate diagnostic parameters. Thus, the widespread influence of Italian psychiatry on international clinical practice will be of great interest to clinicians and researchers alike. In the past, we have published papers on Brazilian psychiatry, and we hope that the tradition will continue in the future. Our thanks to Professor Andrea Fiorillo and Dr Antonio Ventriglio for pulling this issue together.
