Fontilles 120 years ago: the last sanatorium in Europe

The Fontilles of today bears little resemblance to the sanatorium that began to see the light among the mountains in the interior of the Marina Alta at the beginning of the 1909th century. Nestled between the Vall de Laguar, Orba and Murla, the site opened its doors in XNUMX after several years of design and construction. The sanatorium became a dream come true for the founders of Fontilles, who saw the place as the perfect location to treat and provide a dignified life for people with leprosy.

The sanatorium around 1927 with the Santa Isabel pavilion under construction – Photo from the book 'Fontilles. The Valencian model of health colony'

The stages of Fontilles

Leprosy was one of the major public health problems at the beginning of the 20th century. Not only because of the disease itself, but because of the prejudice and isolation suffered by the population that suffered from it. The lack of knowledge aggravated by the fear it instilled led the sick to suffer a strong stigma.

Fontilles users - Photo from the book 'Fontilles. The Valencian model of health colony'

It was Father Carlos Ferrís, a Jesuit, and the lawyer from Tormos, Joaquín Ballester Lloret, who imagined an idyllic place for these patients. The idea of ​​a colony-sanatorium would provide a solution to these people, giving them a home in which they could live in complete tranquility and with the necessary care to alleviate leprosy in better conditions.

In 1902 the idea began to work and seven years later it opened its doors.

1909: the opening

The process of gathering the necessary support, finding the ideal place away from the cruelest society, starting the works, finishing them and obtaining all the authorizations to open the Sanatorium ended in 1909. On January 17 of that year the first eight patients arrived.

Joaquín Ballester in Fontilles in 1907 - Image from the book 'Fontilles. The Valencian model of health colony'

The well-known Sanatorium of San Francisco de Borja began, welcoming leprosy patients from all over Spain. The original Fontilles began with only three buildings: the Virgen de los Desamparados pavilion, the Hospedería and the La Puríssima pavilion. At the end of 1909, the facility already housed 29 people.

The firsts years

As the years went by, the colony-sanatorium needed more spaces and buildings. A barn was built, another building for the carpentry and blacksmith shop with a chicken coop. In 1910 the construction of the first San Rafael pavilion was completed, in 1911 the first Santa Isabel pavilion and in 1913 a church was completed. Later, in 1915, another large space was inaugurated for therapeutic baths and showers. In addition to a sanatorium, Fontilles was becoming a small town with more than 300 patients and its own services to supply its population.

Bath building in 1915 - Photo from the book 'Fontilles. The Valencian model of health colony'

It was in 1917 when a government subsidy recognized the same economic right for Fontilles that the other official Spanish leper colonies enjoyed. In 1922 a laboratory was launched to study the origin of the disease and the appropriate treatments for its cure.

The big Wall

The stigma of leprosy was still in force. The fear that sick people could escape and the rejection that the entire area caused to give them a home led to the construction of a great wall in 1923. Although it was not completed, the wall that runs through the highest parts of the valley Where Fontilles is located, it measures 3 meters high and three kilometers long.

View of the enclosure around 1927 - Photo from the book 'Fontilles. The Valencian model of health colony'

Over time, this more fearful vision disappeared. The facility was a great source of employment for the residents closest to the sanatorium. In 1927, the title of National Institute-School of Leprology was conferred on it.

Decade of 1960

Since 1960, the leprosy situation has already experienced a palpable improvement. Various treatments help patients with their illness and the Sanatorium becomes a place of passage. In 1966, the so-called outpatient regime began, through which patients live at home and go there for check-ups.

Aerial view of Fontilles in the 60s - Photograph from the book 'Fontilles. The Valencian model of health colony'

Fontilles today

The most recent history of Fontilles could begin in 1982, when leprosy was already a disease that could be cured. Despite this, the spirit of solidarity and protection for those most in need never disappeared from the place, thus becoming the last sanatorium in Europe and one of the most calm and tranquil places in the area. A special aura adorns each of its corners and those who visit it do so with special caution and respect.

View of Fontilles today

In this way, the Borja Geriatric Center opened in 1998 to care for older people in the old women's ward. In 2010, the Ferrís Hospital was also created, equipped with the necessary equipment and professionals. People who need temporary stays and rehabilitation for various pathologies are also beginning to come to Fontilles. It is a place to go to recover.

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic that burst onto the global health scene in 2020, the Fontilles Foundation and its acclaimed venue in the Vall de Laguar signs a collaboration agreement with the Department of Equality and Inclusive Policies of the Generalitat Valenciana to care for people with injuries. cerebral. This is how the Ferrís Hospital becomes the current Ferrís Center for Functional Diversity, with 51 places available.

The sanatorium buildings in images