Red Cross Hospital, Italy

The Red Cross Hospital is an abandoned Italian hospital. Perhaps, one of the most famous in Italy. This site lays atop a remote hill, over 1km above sea level. This hospital opened around the turn of the 20th Century. The site was abandoned in the 1980s. Despite being a popular abandoned place, there is little history readily available.

Sanatorium in the mountains

This hospital is a former sanatorium, a hospital which would specifically focus on holistic treatments for respiratory diseases. These included diseases such as tuberculosis. In the years before antibiotics, facilities like this were the only treatment for many health maladies.

The Italians call these sanatoria were called “colonia elioterapica“, or heliotherapeutic colonies. This is in reference to the purported therapeutic effects of sunlight and fresh air used to treat patients. Consequently, these hospitals were built in the Italian mountains.

Various religious organisations owned these sanatoria. The organisations were referred to as “the sacred families” (La Sacra Famiglia). It is one of these groups that once owned The Red Cross Hospital. Children and their families would stay here during the summer holidays. They came to recuperate in the crisp mountain air and the Italian sunshine. The scenery across the valley and villages below is truly breathtaking.

Inside Red Cross Hospital

On the second floor of Red Cross Hospital, is the chapel. This bright and airy room features a red cross painted on the ceiling. A frame surrounds the red cross. Over the years this cross has faded. In fact, this once vivid symbol is now hard to distinguish. Presently the wooden frame is peeling away from the ceiling, perhaps one day it will fall.

There are several dormitories on the upper floor, filled with metal beds. Children would sleep in these beds during their summer visits. There is a communal bathroom for each dormitory, and several of these now have trees growing in them. Nowadays, the building is mostly empty apart from these numerous metal beds and rotting mattresses.

These photographs show the state of Red Cross Hospital in the summer of 2018; this visit was part of our Italy 2018 Tour.