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.
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.
The black plague ravaged Venice for centuries, from the mid 1300s to the late 1700s. This is a chronology of some of the most important events.
In 1793 a ship from Nauplia in Greece brought cheese and the black plague to Venice. Twelve persons died.