The ‘fanti da mar’ were a corps of naval infantry of the Republic of Venice. Today a group of enthusiasts re-enact the ‘fanti da mar’.
The lazzaretti in Venice were the Venetian republic’s response to the emergency of the plague, and an efficient response too.
Quarantine is derived from the Venetian (and Italian) word for forty, because the quarantine period on the Lazzaretto Nuovo ended up around forty days.
Cocciopesto is a dark red colour commonly used for short-lived writing on walls – but sometimes they survive.
Some old postcards from the 1950s give us a glimpse of how the city has changed dramatically within a single lifetime.
The word “Lazaret” (“Lazzaretto” in Italian) comes from the original name of the medieval plague hospital in the Venetian Lagoon.
Lazzaretto Vecchio was the first stable hospital and quarantine station for the bubonic plague in the world, founded in 1423 by the Republic of Venice.