Preventori de la Savinosa, Preventorium in Tarragona, Spain.
Preventori de la Savinosa is a medical facility on the coast near Tarragona built in the early 20th century to support children's recovery. The complex contains numerous buildings arranged across the grounds between two beaches, including residential pavilions, dormitories, dining facilities, and medical units.
The facility opened in 1932 as a preventorium for tuberculosis, offering therapeutic stays to help children avoid the disease. It was converted into a military hospital during the Spanish Civil War, marking a significant shift in its medical purpose.
The facility was designed as a recovery retreat for children from modest backgrounds who spent months here building their strength. The buildings reflect the belief that healing came through rest, fresh air, and community life, a common approach in early 20th-century medicine.
The site lies in a quiet coastal area and is best explored on foot to see all the pavilions and pathways connecting the structures. The best way to understand the complex is to walk slowly through it and observe the different zones for sleeping, dining, and treatment.
In the 1960s, the buildings were rapidly repurposed to shelter children displaced by floods in Valencia and later by overflows of the Fracanoli River. This unexpected role revealed how the site served the wider community far beyond its original design.
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