Lazareto like Ptychia is one of the islands that lie off the coast of Corfu, opposite Corfu Town. It lies west of Ptychia and is even smaller. The island is sometimes also called Gouvion and previously the 77,000 m2 large island was called Agios Dimitrios. The name Lazaretto dates from the time of the Venetians, that built a monastery on the island in the 16th century and later that century made the island into a leprosy-colony. During the Venetian period also the ships were suspected to have the plague on board were put in quarantine here. Unfortunately, despite this, Corfu was affected by this disease several times.
During the Second World War the island Lazaretto used by the Germans as a place of execution. Greek resistance fighters were put to prison and shot here. Every year on May the 27th, residents of Corfu that have lost family or loved ones, make a pilgrimage to the island and put flowers in the bullet holes in the wall where the prisoners were shot. On the island are the remains of a building that was used as headquarters for the Italian army. There is also a small church.