Peppe was born in 1947, psychiatrist, he was lucky enough to start working with Franco Basaglia from the early days of Trieste. He took part in changing and closing down Psychiatric Hospital. He still lives in Trieste, where he directed for 18 years the Mental Health Department.

Since 1995 he teaches Social Psychiatry at the Psychological Department of Trieste University.

In 1988, he published with Roberto Mezzina “Il folle gesto” (Insane deed) which re-flects the issues of psychiatric expertness, supporting program in the prisons and fo-rensic hospital. The text anticipates more than twenty years the urgency to over-come forensic hospitals.

He carried out scientific and organizative advices in various italian locations, in Eu-rope, Japan and Americas. He took part in conferences, seminars and technical in-spections.

In 2005 he was visiting Professor at Berkeley, invited by the Institute of Medical An-thropology.

In 1985 in Chile, in 1990 in Albania and in 1998 in Palestine, sent by Foreign Affairs and international organizations, he dealt with sensitive issues always related to men-tal health and rights of groups and individuals in various measures persecuted.

From 2004 to 2008, he was a consultant in mental health for Sardinia region gov-ernement: in this role, he was the drafter of a mental health plan and an extensive training program.

He follows with peculiar attention the training of workers in the community mental health services. He was busy in the last 25 years to support programs for relatives of people with mental disorder. As a result of this commitment, he has published the handbook, “Fuori come va? Famiglie e persone con schizofrenia”, (“Wath’s happen-ing outside? Families and people with schizofrenia. Handbook to mental services op-timistic use”) updated and edited again in 2010, it was reprinted in 2013. The book, described as a long seller (has sold more than 10.000 copies to date), summarizes practices and research in supporting families.

In 2003 he was one of the promoters of Mental Health National Forum, born for the protection of the rights and opportunities of people with mental disorder.

In 2007 he published the book-witness “Non ho l’arma che uccide il leone…”, (“No weapon to kill lion…”) edit again in 2014, the true story of protagonists who carried out the change in Trieste, about thirty years before, in San Giovanni psychiatric hos-pital, at the time of Franco Basaglia.

He has always treated with great attention the aspect of communication by radio, television programs, magazines, newspapers and active interventions in the debate of mental health change in Italy.

Between 2009 and 2010, he was consultant in the realization of scientific and histor-ical fiction “C’era una volta la città dei matti” (There was once the city of the mad), focused on the change and the psychiatric culture in Italy. The film is now touring the world.

In 2010, he created the editorial series “180. Archivio critico della salute mentale” (“180. Mental health critical archives”) by Edizioni alphabeta Verlag that offers texts, writings, stories, essays with the aim to activate knowledge and “critical thinking”, especially among students and young workers, about the “psychiatric issue” and about mental health.

He contributed in the political campaign for the definitive closure of the forensic hospitals. In November 2013 he organized – with several Associations, Syndicates and workers – “Viaggio di Marco Cavallo nel mondo di fuori per incontrare gli inter-nati”. A trip of 4.000km that led him to meet with the inmates of the six forensic hospitals still open in Italy. He took part in the discussion and drafting of the law (May 2014) which marks the end of forensic hospitals in Italy.

In 2019, with Massimo Cirri – famous radio host – he wrote and interpreted the play “Tra Parentesi. La vera storia di un’impensabile liberazione”, “Between brackets. The true story of an unbelievable liberation”, a theatrical storytelling on Franco Basaglia’s revolution, also published for Collana180. Over 5000 have been the per-formances throughout Italy.

He loves to tell stories to his grand-daughter Sara.