20 min walk away - 2,0km

The Lazzaretto of Ancona also called the Mole Vanvitelliana is an 18th century building, constructed on an artificial island for the purpose of serving as quarantine station and Leprosarium for the port town of Ancona, Italy. While the term lazaretto has been interpreted by some as merely a quarantine station for maritime travellers; for centuries, it was the term used to refer to lazar house (Leprosarium or Leper colony), referring to the one of the two New Testament persons named Lazaru. The pentagonal building rises on an artificial island in the port. It is now connected to the mainland by three bridges. It was a project commissioned by Pope Clement XII, designed by the architect, Luigi Vanvitelli, and built (1733-1743) with originally no land link to the mainland. A well was located in the central Neoclassical tempietto dedicated to Saint Roch, patron of lepers, in the center of the courtyard. It was built to house possibly infected travellers and goods arriving in the port, as well as lepers.

Click here to get to know how to reach Mole Vanvitelliana starting from the Hotel della Vittoria.