LAZZARETTO

The lazzaretto was built at the beginning of the XIX century on the initiative of lieutenant general Giovan Battista Fardella. It rises on the island of Sant’Antonio, today united with the mainland, where during the first half of the XIII century the church of Sant’Antonio del Mare was built, which had the function of hosting crews from suspicious boats, presumed carriers of epidemic illnesses, for the quarantine period. The church was destroyed in the XVI century, probably due to its strategic position. On the same site, in 1838 the new lazaretto was built, a work by the architect Antonio Gentile, following an epidemic of cholera  the previous year. The complex presents itself as a large exedra and was used on the occasion of other epidemics of cholera in 1854 and 1867. In 1885 the lazaretto ceased to be used for quarantine purposes. Today it is home to the local section of the Italian Naval League.