The Italian government is renovating a disused 18th-century prison on the remote island of Santo Stefano as part of a large-scale initiative that will include the making of a new museum. The initiative is being named for David Sassoli, the Italian Democrat who formerly served as president of the European Parliament. Sassoli died earlier this month at the age of 65 due to complications from pneumonia.
The Italian state is spending €70 million ($86 million) to rehabilitate structural remains at Santo Stefano and neighboring coastal sites. At the former, the government is building an open-air museum that will illustrate the site’s dark past, along with gardens and conference rooms that will used for seminars and events focused on cultural and political themes.
