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Origin and history

The Caroline Hospital was built between 1823 and 1828 on the island of Ratonneau, in the archipelago of Frioul in Marseille, under the direction of architect Michel-Robert Penchaud. Intended to accommodate quarantined travellers, particularly in case of suspected yellow fever, it met strict criteria: isolation, wind aeration, proximity to the sea for water supply, and ease of monitoring. His name pays tribute to Caroline de Bourbon-Siciles, Duchess of Berry.

The architectural ensemble, organized around a central chapel in the shape of a Greek temple, included separate pavilions for the sick, the convalescents, the baths, and a captainry. Buildings, designed with cost saving, used standard modules produced in series. The chapel, visible to all, allowed patients to attend the offices from their dormitories, while its podium served as a safe for medical equipment. The hospital, originally planned for 200 people, was reduced to 48 patients and 24 convalescents for budgetary reasons.

In the 1850s, the hospital was transformed by architect Vaucher and integrated into the "Lazaret of the islands", the largest Mediterranean complex of this type. Used until 1941 for epidemics like typhus, it was destroyed by bombardments in 1944 during the Liberation of Marseilles. Ranked a historic monument in 1980, the site was restored from the 1980s by the Caroline Association and then by Acta Vista since 2007. Today, it hosts cultural events, including the MIMI festival.

The Caroline Association (1980-2004) carried out extensive rehabilitation work, building on volunteer projects and partnerships with Baumettes Prison for rehabilitation workshops. It restored several pavilions, including Saint-Roch, the infirmary, and the chapel, the latter symbolizing the spiritual and architectural heart of the site. The original materials, like the marble of the chapel, were preserved under the control of the Architects of the Buildings of France. The association also organized festivals, attracting a faithful audience.

Since 2007, Acta Vista has taken over restoration, training more than 500 people in heritage professions. The work included the consolidation of the Chevalier Roze pavilions and the Intendants, as well as the cover of 1,300 m2 of roofs. The association Les Amis de Michel-Robert Penchaud, created in the same year, promotes the knowledge of the architect and the exploitation of the site, now open to the public on the first Saturday of each month thanks to guided tours.

The Caroline Hospital illustrates the evolution of health practices in the 19th century, moving from a miasm-based quarantine model to a modern medical approach. Its architecture, adapted to its original function, makes it a unique testimony of the Mediterranean lazarets. Despite the destructions of 1944, successive restorations preserved this heritage, today both a place of memory and a dynamic cultural space.

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