Santo Stefano Island

Santo Stefano is an island in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the west coast of Italy, and part of the Pontine Islands. It is roughly circular, with a diametre less than 400 m, and it is located 2 km east of the nearby island of Ventotene.

It is dominated by an old prison built by the Bourbons who owned the island, completed in 1797 and in use until 1965. It originally had 99 cells 4 meters by 4 meters, to house 4 inmates, which were later halved to double the number of cells. The tower in the middle is not a watchtower, but a chapel, where inmates watched the celebration of mass. Built for 600 inmates, it had 800 in 1817 . People imprisoned included Carmine Crocco, the most important brigand during the Italian unification, and the anarchist Gaetano Bresci, who killed King Umberto I in 1900. He was imprisoned there for a year before being found hanged in his cell. During the Fascist regime, other prisoners were the future President of Italy Sandro Pertini, Umberto Terracini, Giorgio Amendola, Lelio Basso, Mauro Scoccimarro, Giuseppe Romita, Altiero Spinelli and Ernesto Rossi.

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