The Lazzaretto of Ancona, also called the Mole Vanvitelliana, is a pentagonal 18th-century building built on an artificial island as a quarantine station for the port town of

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic S ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. The island is now connected to the mainland by three bridges. The building was commissioned by Pope

Clement XII Pope Clement XII ( la, Clemens XII; it, Clemente XII; 7 April 16526 February 1740), born Lorenzo Corsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 July 1730 to his death in February 1740. Clement presided over the ...

, designed by the architect

Luigi Vanvitelli Luigi Vanvitelli (; 12 May 1700 – 1 March 1773), known in Dutch as (), was an Italian architect and painter. The most prominent 18th-century architect of Italy, he practised a sober classicising academic Late Baroque style that made an eas ...

, and built from 1733−1743. It originally had only one link to the mainland. A well was located in the central Neoclassical tempietto dedicated to

Saint Roch Roch (lived c. 1348 – 15/16 August 1376/79 (traditionally c. 1295 – 16 August 1327, also called Rock in English, is a Catholic saint, a confessor whose death is commemorated on 16 August and 9 September in Italy; he is especially invoked a ...

, invoked against the plague, in the center of the courtyard. It was built to house possibly-infected travellers and goods arriving in the port. Over the years, the site has taken different functions, mainly as a military citadel since the 19th century. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, there was a failed attempt to sabotage the Italian naval resources by 60 infiltrating Habsburg sailors. Now it is used as a site of the museum '' Tattile Omero'', as well as home for various exhibitions. It is not clear why a pentagonal shape was chosen for the building. However, the rationalistic and functional ensemble is common to many works of late

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

architecture. The efforts of this work can be compared to the contemporary architecture of institutions meant to provide geometrically compelling structures to house services for the poor in Naples by

Fernando Fuga Ferdinando Fuga (11 November 1699 – 7 February 1782) was an Italian architect who was born in Florence, and is known for his work in Rome and Naples. Much of his early work was in Rome, notably, the Palazzo della Consulta (1732–7) at the Quiri ...

, such as the massive Royal Hospice and Hospital for the Poor and the mathematical Cemetery of the 366 Fossae.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ancona, Lazaretto of Buildings and structures in Ancona Leper colonies Neoclassical architecture in le Marche Quarantine facilities in Italy Medical and health organisations based in Italy Luigi Vanvitelli buildings