Then, in the early 1700's, S. Servolo was designated as the site of the military hospital of the Venetian Republic; the continuous conflicts with the Ottoman Empire created the need for such an institution. The soldiers and sailors it served, who were the source of the Republic's strength in these baffles for commercial and political sovereignty, were looked after by the Friars of the order of St. John of God.
In 1725, a mentally deranged nobleman was admitted to this military hospital and thus began S. Servolo's function as an asylum for mad noblemen. While some of these patients suffered serious psychiatric problems, others were confined there only because they were deemed socially undesirable.

By 1800, mental patients of every social class and strata were admitted to 5. Servolo, which then became the psychiatric hospital for the Region of the Veneto. Women were accepted from 1804-1834, after which they were treated in the hospital of S. Clemente.

The hospital of S. Servolo was closed in 1978.

For some photo and more historical info on the island of S. Servolo look in the VIU's Home Page.