History

From 1423 the Venetian Senate used the island to quarantine people and goods infected with leprosy. The quarantine solution became permanent on the 17th July 1456 in response to the plague epidemic, and the island was known as Lazaretto. The island is surrounded by water and a perimeter wall corralled people through a single exit and entrance. The land area was measured to be 105 x 85 geometrical paces and a circumference of 388 paces. It could store 6,730 bales of merchandis… See more

The Island of Lazzaretto Nuovo was first used as a quarantine post by the Venetian Government in 1468 CE to protect the merchant-based Republic from incurable diseases brought to Europe from the Orient. "Tis one continued building, consisting of two storeys, 300 paces long, and divided by high walls into six apartments, each of which has a particular gate that leads into a square court, where there is a well, but the water is so bad, that, we never use any but what is brought from Venice. Every apartment contains twenty chambers, ten above, and as many below, separated like cells, with a chimney in each." (du Mont 1696, p350).

During times of plague the Health Office had unlimited power to maintain the public health and safety of Venice until it was dissolved by the Austrian invaders in 1797. The Supervisors hired both doctors and pizzigamorti to deal with the sick and dying in Venice. Two doctors were appointed full-time; their main role was to examine anyone who died less than seven days after becoming ill. One of these doctors was responsible for the city and the other for the lazarettos. When people died of the plague, bodies were taken from houses or streets by pizzigamorti and buried far from the city. The next of kin were interviewed about the movements of the plague victim to identify where they caught the disease, and who they have been in contact with during the time of illness. The sick were cared for at the hospital of Lazzaretto Vecchio, and close contacts were isolated either on the Island of Lazzaretto Nuovo or sealed in their houses. The Health Office threatened those refusing to quarantine on the lazarettos with the gallows or making them work on the quarantine islands for the duration of the epidemic. [Image: An example of a Bill of Health issued in 1713 confirming the individuals named are free from contagion; age, hair colour, and height are also recorded. Wellcome Collection].

The flagellate Confraternity of Saint Roch in Venice was formed in 1478 to protect the city against plague. By the 16th century the confraternity was one of the richest and in 1515 a grand structure was built opposite the church, which is still functioning to this day as a meeting house for its members. Inside, the Scuola is covered in works of art, on canvas, in stone, and in wood. The main hall has 47 paintings on the wall and ceiling, most have biblical themes featuring protagonists from the Old Testament. The patron saints of plague, San Rocco and San Sebastian also feature in the main hall. The Scuole employed accountants, lawyers, and administrators to manage the running of the confraternity, in addition to craftsmen and labourers to maintain and improve the buildings owned by the organisation. The Scuole participated in the funerals of important personages, including doges, and these processions were a way to advertise their wealth and importance to entice others to leave legacies to them. Thus the Scuole had the financial means to support the arts by employing painters such as Tiziano Vecellio, Jacopo Tintoretto and Giambattista Tiepolo; architects including Baldassare Longhena; and musicians like Antonio Vivaldi. The Scuole Grandi also helped young girls to marry, particularly in the 16th century. This was funded predominantly by donations from wealthy members.

In 1575 people recognised the symptoms of high fever, severe malaise, abdominal pain, and buboes that are classic signatures of bubonic plague; these lymph node swellings eventually haemorrhaged internally turning the skin black. By July 1577 as many as 28% of the Venetian population succumbed to the disease.

In December of 1630, the medic Valerio Martini, provided detailed instruction on how to clean the houses and clothing of infected people. He did this to try and to rid the city of plague. Martini stipulated that the disinfecting process required cleaning first by people exposed to illness and then again by those considered ‘healthy and clean. He explained that although the plague would die down over the winter, if the cause of the infection was not purged from the city, then in the spring and summer there would be a resurgence of infection and great loss of life. Women were at greatest risk of dying from the plague, with 43% of recorded deaths compared to just over 28% each for men and children. Pregnant women are at particular risk, with death of both mother and child commonly reported, maternal haemorrhaging being a complication of infection. [Image: Graph of the number of deaths per month in the five parishes with the highest mortality (left axis) and total deaths in the city (right axis) over three years (Jan 1629 to Dec 1631) based on daily plague death data published by Lazzari, et al. 2020].

Population numbers fluctuated over the centuries, as much as 30-35% during times of plague. Recovery was relatively quick due to government incentives to promote immigration. Archival documents identify the names of thousands of immigrants to Venice, particularly from Dalmatia, Greece, and Albania, but as far away as sub-Saharan Africa. The Collegio dei Sette Savi was established to monitor foreigners more closely for the purpose of taxation and control the potential spread of disease. To assist this objective, inn-keepers were expected to keep records of the arrivals and departures of all foreigners. Visitors were required to stay at an inn for the first six days if arriving by land, or three days if arriving by sea, after which time they could apply for a license to live elsewhere. By the end of that century the residency permit (bollettino) was an official document that allowed foreigners to move to more long-term accommodation, for example in lodging houses. Religious variations were tolerated to some degree, although conversion to Christianity was required in order to take full advantage of the commercial and social advantages of citizenship. Foreigners who achieved citizenship through merit were cittadini de intus when their economic and administrative privileges were only valid within the city, or de extra when they could claim citizenship and trade abroad. To achieve complete citizenship (de intus et de extra) in Venice during the 14th Century, a foreigner must prove 25 years of residency, but could apply for a lesser citizenship (de intus) after various restrictions were met including 10 years of residency and marriage to a Venetian. [Image: Gondoliers on the Grand Canal in front of the Rialto bridge, including a Moro on the gondola in the foreground (Carpaccio 1496)]