Page 18 - All About History - Issue 56-17

EpidEmics

Gunpowder storage
After the Black Death of 1346-53, plagues came and went across
Europe and between outbreaks, the island was used to store
gunpowder in two ‘torresini da polvere’. This dangerous substance
was unstable, so the quarantine islands provided the perfect
location for storage away from the healthy population of Venice.

LAZZARETTO ISLANDS

VENICE’S QUARANTINE STATIONS, 15TH CENTURY

The Black Death was spread from victim to victim
through fleabites, body fluids and sometimes on
the droplets of a cough or sneeze. This meant
that major Medieval cities, where the common
people lived in cramped and dirty conditions,
were a breeding ground for such infections. Mass grave
At the height of the
As commercial hubs, the cities and ports also
plagues of the 14th and
attracted traders who would either bring the 16th centuries, hundreds of
plague with them or catch it while visiting and people died every day on
pass it on while they travelled. the islands and the body
carriers were overwhelmed.
Though the exact cause of the Black Death
The corpses were piled into
and how it spread wasn’t understood at the time, mass graves, or plague pits,
contemporary city burghers did what they could and it’s rumoured that many
to isolate the sick. Infected houses were locked were buried before they had
even died.
down, animals were banned from the streets,
bodies were hauled into pits, public gatherings
were forbidden and trade was halted.
In 1348, the Venetians came up with a grand
plan to prevent the disease from spreading
through their population: quarantine. Any vessel
that wanted to enter the island city’s ports had to
spend 40 days anchored offshore to prove that
its passengers were not sick — or die trying. In
1403, the citizens went one step further and built Decontamination
a public hospital on the neighbouring island of Contemporary medicine believed
that the plague was spread by
Lazzaretto Vecchio to isolate any citizens that
miasma or bad air. In an attempt
showed signs of plague. to tackle this, juniper, rosemary
Considered a success, soon more islands in the and other herbs were piled up and
Venetian Lagoon — like Lazzaretto Nuovo and burnt. Soiled clothes were boiled
or coated in vinegar, and the cargo
Poveglia — were being turned into holding pens
from incoming ships was left in the
for potential plague carriers. Rather than staying
open air to be ‘decontaminated’.
on their ships, newcomers were encouraged
to maroon themselves on these islands while
handing over their cargo to be ‘decontaminated’.
Meanwhile, the waters were guarded by armed
patrols and anyone who violated the rules was
sent to the gallows.
While Venetians were able to curb the damage Unsafe harbour
as the plague struck Europe, the reality was that
Plague victims were taken to the island by boat and left on their
being sent to one of these islands was often shores to protect the people of Venice from infection. Incoming
a death sentence. More than 1,500 skeletons ships were also made to wait on one of the islands in case their
have been unearthed on Lazzaretto Vecchio, crew were carrying the disease. The word ‘quarantine’ comes
and thousands more are thought to be lurking from the Italian ‘quarantina giorni’, meaning 40 days — the time
ships were made to wait before making port.
beneath the ground.

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