The old Hospital, or “Lazaret,” where strangers passing through Roccaporena found shelter is, according to old local tradition, where St. Rita often went to help the sick.

The name “Lazaret” suggests the hospital was used during the repeated waves of plague epidemics which scourged Umbria. Of the three original rooms in the Lazaret, only two remain. The sixteenth-century frescoes were restored in 1953.

The wall facing you as you enter the first room depicts the figure of St. Martin, the patron saint of Roccaporena. St. Lucy appears in the niche above the door. To her right, the Annunciation, dated 1533, is depicted on either side of a window, which was part of the original architecture of a double atrium. To the left of the window, the archangel Gabriel kneels to make the announcement. Above the window stands the Lord with globe in hand, and on his right is the Holy Spirit in the shape of a dove, from which a long, igneous ray strikes the Virgin Mary’s heart. In the third arch, Mary is seated at the scriptorium, deep in prayer.

Among the remaining frescoes in the Lazaret you can find a Madonna of Loreto (late 16th century), the Virgin Mary and Child standing on the Holy House, resting on the clouds.