The prison of Santo Stefano, in disuse today, was built in 1795 on the Island of Santo Stefano in the archipelago of the Pontine Islands, at the behest of Ferdinand I, King of the Two Sicilies. The project was entrusted to Major Antonio Winspeare and the architect Francesco Carpi who followed the principles of the Panopticon by the English philosopher Jeremy Bentham whose goal was to create an ideal prison.
Riots at the prison include that in October 1860 when the prisoners proclaimed the Republic of Santo Stefano. However, the following January, an expedition of sailors put an end to the newly created Republic and the rioters were put on trial. The structure was later used by the Italian Government – for example, Sandro Pertini was imprisoned here during Fascism -and it was eventually closed in 1965. Today it is part of the Riserva Naturale Statale Isole di Ventotene e Santo Stefano.
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