When he first entered the Lazzaretto Nuovo, on the island of the same name just north of Venice, Gerolamo Fazzini made his way through the overgrowth, which over the years had invaded the entire structure. He entered through a hole to find sunlight streaming in through the cracks made by poplars that had fallen into the walls. “I turned my gaze toward a wall and I noticed patches of color here and there behind the lime,” he says. “It was obvious that there were writings and drawings, but nothing could…
