Established by Royal Decree in 1889, the Alghero Penal Bath took shape on the hill of San Giovanni in 1893. It was here that Alessandro Serenelli, the killer of Santa Maria Goretti, served the last years of his long imprisonment from 1924 to 1929.
In 1945 it was the scene of a tragic escape of lifers, including the Farina brothers, in which four correctional officers lost their lives.
After that episode the wall structures were strengthened and the perimeter towers were erected. Currently, a printing shop, replacing the old bindery, a started carpentry workshop and several vocational education courses are being run within the correctional institution. The facility houses a rich library of as many as 11,000 volumes named after Fabrizio De André.
