Editing Gaetano Donizetti (section)

====Institutionalization====
In February 1846, reluctant to consider going further towards institutionalization, he relied on the further advice of two of the doctors who had examined his uncle in late January. They stated:

{{quote|We....certify that M. Gaetan (''sic'') Donizetti is the victim of a mental disease that brings disorder into his actions and his decisions; that it is to be desired in the interest of his preservation and his treatment that he be isolated in an establishment devoted to cerebral and intellectual maladies.<ref>Drs. Calmeil and Ricord to Andrea Donizetti, 31 January 1846, in {{harvnb|Weinstock|1963|p=247}}</ref>}}

[[File:Philippe Ricord by Etienne Carjat.jpg|thumb|upright|Dr. Philippe Ricord]]

Therefore, Andrea agreed to allow his uncle to be taken to a facility which has been described as "resemb[ling] that of a health spa.... with a central hospital more-or-less in the guise of a country house"<ref name=WEA>{{harvnb|Weatherson|2013|pp=12–17}}</ref> and Donizetti left Paris by coach with Andrea, believing that they were travelling to Vienna, where he was due by 12 February to fulfill his contract. Following behind in another coach was Dr. Ricord. After three hours they arrived at the Maison Esquirol in Ivry-sur-Seine, a suburb of Paris,{{sfn|Weatherson|2013|pp=12–14}} where an explanation involving an accident was concocted to explain the need to spend the night at a "comfortable inn".<ref name=WEA/> Within a few days—realizing that he was being confined—Donizetti wrote urgent letters seeking help from friends, but they were never delivered. However, evidence provided from friends who visited Donizetti over the following months, states that he was being treated very well, the facility having a reputation for the care given to its patients.<ref name=WEA/> Various aggressive treatments were tried, and were described as having their "successes, however fleeting".<ref name=WEA/>

By the end of May, Andrea had decided that his uncle would be better off in the Italian climate, and three outside physicians were called in for their opinions. Their report concluded with the advice that he leave for Italy without delay.<ref>Report of 12 June 1846, in {{harvnb|Weinstock|1963|p=246}}</ref> But, as Andrea began to make plans for his uncle's journey to and upkeep in Bergamo, he was forced by the Paris Prefect of Police to have his uncle undergo another examination by other physicians appointed by the Prefect. Their conclusion was the opposite of that of the previous doctors: "we are of the opinion that the trip should be forbidden formally as offering very real dangers and being far from allowing hope of any useful result."<ref>Report of three doctors, 10 July 1846, in {{harvnb|Weinstock|1963|p=243}}</ref> With that, the Prefect informed Andrea that Donizetti could not be moved from Ivry. Andrea saw little use in remaining in Paris. He sought a final opinion from the three doctors practicing at the clinic, and on 30 August, they provided a lengthy report outlining step-by-step the complete physical condition of their declining patient, concluding that the rigours of travel—the jolting of the carriage, for example—could bring on new symptoms or complications impossible to treat on such a journey.<ref>Report from Drs. Calmeil, Ricord, and Moreau to Andrea Donizetti, 30 August 1846, in {{harvnb|Weinstock|1963|pp=254–255}}</ref> Andrea left for Bergamo on 7 (or 8) September 1846, taking with him a partial score of ''[[Le duc d'Albe]]'', the completed score of ''[[Rita (opera)|Rita]]'', and a variety of personal effects, including jewelry.<ref>{{harvnb|Weinstock|1963}} and {{harvnb|Ashbrook|1982}} provide different departure days.</ref>