Lazaretto Island (Corfu)

Lazaretto Island, (Greek: Λαζαρέτο, also Lazareto, formerly known as Aghios Dimitrios) is located two nautical miles northeast of Corfu. The island has an area of 17.5 acres (71,000 m²) and is administered by the Greek National Tourist Organization. It gets its name from the lazaretto located there.

During Venetian rule in the early 16th century a monastery was built on the islet and a leprosarium was established there later that century, after which the island was named.

In 1798, during the French occupation, it was occupied by the Russo-Turkish fleet which ran it as a military hospital. During the British occupation, in 1814, the leprosarium was again opened after renovations. After Enosis in 1864 the leprosarium saw occasional use.^[1]

During World War II, the Axis Occupation of Greece established a concentration camp there for the prisoners of the Greek National Resistance movement.^[2] There remains today the two-storied building that served as the Headquarters of the Italian army, a small church, and the wall against which those condemned to death were shot.^[1][2]

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