Where does the word quarantine come from? Venice, Italy

• In the mid-14th century, Venice was hit by the Black Death outbreak, which killed about a third of the European population.

• Being a major trading hub, Venetian Republic was very exposed.

• The only solution was separating the sick and protecting the economy.

---

Photo: Public domain

Venetians who had the plague were sent on a treatment base on Lazzaretto Vecchio. Later, Lazzaretto Nuovo became a quarantine (a new isolation hospital) for those arriving in Venice by ships suspected to be infected. Limited medical experience and lack of monitoring made it challenging to handle the plague, killing almost a third of Venetians in 1630 alone. 

Photo: This Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons image is from the user Chris 73 and is freely available at //commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Poveglia_Closeup_of_Hospital.jpg under the creative commons cc-by-sa 3.0 license.

The island is also known for the alleged "Vampire of Venice" legend – a female accused of being a witch. During the Napoleon era, the island served as a military outpost. 

Poveglia (in the photo above) is another quarantine island also used as a mental institution until 1968 (now closed for the public). Mass graves were discovered on all islands.

Photo: Adobe Stock

The word "quarantine" comes from the Italian term "quaranta giorni" and means 40 days. It marked this period of the epidemic, during which all ships were isolated before passengers could go ashore.

Discover more about Venice and its unique attractions with many of its beautiful surrounding islands in our travel guide. 

🔥 Want a complete Venice .pdf guide for $6.99?

Our travel guide is a mobile-friendly .pdf document that you can store on your phone for offline use. It covers the top 10 things to do in Venice, plus 10 additional attractions, maps, links, opening hours, and other information that will help make your trip to Venice stress-free.

Cover photo: Adobe Stock

---