The cage that became a bird
The Lazaretto of Mahón (Menorca) is a group of sanitary buildings where they treated infectious diseases. It was prepared to deal with the quarantine period of ships or boats arriving at the port, suspected of having any contagious disease. It was divided into 3 patents or modules:
- Suspicious Patent. They were staying there to pass the quarantine since they could come from ports, or boats suspected of some kind of disease.
- Dirty Patent. This wing was for contaminated belongings and people from ships or that had had contact with other infected ships.
- Plagued Patent. After that, people with infectious diseases were installed in it.
Each patent consists of several buildings to house the crew. As well as watchtowers, infirmaries, and ventilation warehouses to keep the belongings coming from the ships.
Its walls and buildings have a defensive function. And this defense not only served to protect patients and workers but to prevent them from running away from there. In conclusion, it was a sanitary prison.
Currently the complex was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in 1993. The Lazaretto island is in one of the most beautiful places on the Menorca coast, in the center of the port of Mahón.
Where is the Lazaretto?
Isn’t she pretty?
Lazaretto facilities
The citadel of ghosts
Everyone says the Lazaretto is haunted. Why wouldn’t it be?
We do not believe in ghosts, BUT… Just in case, please respect the humans, voices and silences, dimensional wanderers, and ghosts that roam this Lazaretto.
History of the Lazaretto
The arrival of the Bubonic plague on Menorca’s shores from ships coming in from the East and from northern Africa prompted the Count of Floridablanca, Minister of King Carlos III to commission the building of the Lazaretto in Maó on the King’s orders in 1793.
This unusual historical building complex was originally meant as a sanatorium where patients could be quarantined during the constant outbreaks of Bubonic plague. The British government had already built a small complex on what was known as «Illa de la Quarantena» (quarantine island), which was used in the 19th century when the harbour became severely congested.
The Lazaretto’s sanatorium was opened in 1817 and was closed down after a century until. Years later it was converted into a venue for meetings and for national and international conferences. It is also a place where visitors can get a sense of what life was like in Menorca in the 19th century. Thanks to the wonderful spaces and buildings that have been preserved all over this small island.
