Lazaretto Island, (Greek: Λαζαρέτο, also Lazareto, formerly known as Aghios Dimitrios) is located two

nautical mile A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude. Tod ...

s northeast of the city of Corfu. The island has an area of and is administered by the Greek National Tourist Organization. It gets its name from the lazaretto located there. During

Venetian Venetian often means from or related to: * Venice, a city in Italy * Veneto, a region of Italy * Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area Venetian and the like may also refer to: * Venetian language, a Romance language s ...

rule in the early 16th century a monastery was built on the

islet An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanen ...

and a

leprosarium A leper colony, also known by many other names, is an isolated community for the quarantining and treatment of lepers, people suffering from leprosy. ''M. leprae'', the bacterium responsible for leprosy, is believed to have spread from East Afr ...

was established there later that century, after which the island was named. In 1798, during the

French occupation French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Fran ...

, 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 the Union with Greece in 1864 the leprosarium saw occasional use. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the Italian occupation authorities established a

concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

there for the prisoners of the Greek National Resistance movement. 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.Corfu honored with a new museum
/ref>Travel to Corfu
/ref>

References

{{Landmarks of Corfu Corfu (city) Leper colonies Islands of the Ionian Islands (region) Landforms of Corfu (regional unit)