Lazzaretto Vecchio — Venetia Descritta (1581)

Lazzaretto Vecchio was the primary plague hospital in Venice, established in 1423 on an island south of Venice, close to the Lido.

The Lazzaretto Vecchio had an essential role during the plague epidemic of 1575–77, but was also horribly overloaded, as Francesco Sansovino notes in his description of the place.

While his daughter Aurora died of the plague in 1576, he himself had not direct experience of the island, as he had with the Lazzaretto Nuovo.

#histodons #Plague #PlagueIslands #Venezia #Venice

Read more here: https://historywalksvenice.com/translation/lazzaretto-vecchio-venetia-descritta-1581/

The Black Plague

The black plague — or bubonic plague — is caused by a bacterium, yersinia pestis.

The black plague ravaged Venice for centuries, and had a huge impact on life in the city.

#Plague #PlagueIslands #Venezia #Venice

Read more here: https://historywalksvenice.com/article/the-black-plague/

A Chronology of the Black Plague in Venice

Below are a chronology of some of the most important events in Venice related to the black plague, and a list of some notable deaths of the black plague in Venice.

As the chronology shows, the black plague returned again and again for almost a century after its first appearance, until the Venetians set up the lazzaretti.

#ChronologyOrTimelines #Plague #PlagueIslands #Venezia #Venice

Read more here: https://historywalksvenice.com/article/the-black-plague/a-chronology-of-the-black-plague-in-venice/

The Plague Stone of Poveglia

The island of Poveglia in the Venetian lagoon is one of the most haunted in the world.

This has been well-known since the early 2000s, when an American TV station decided that insufficiently interesting historical facts objectively shouldn't prevent them from getting an adequate audience for their advertisers.

The stepping stone for the TV station to that invented story, was, in fact, a stone.

#1700s #Plague #PlagueIslands #Poveglia #Venice

Read more here: https://venetianstories.com/venetian-story/the-plague-stone-of-poveglia/

The lagoon in winter

Maybe a boat tour in the Venetian lagoon is not what most people would think of first, if they're in Venice around Christmas, but yesterday was a particularly beautiful winter day. It wasn't too cold, the air was clear, and the sun was shining.

We started early, at 8am because the days are short. The first stop was the island of Poveglia some 10km south of Venice.

The island has acquired a reputation for being haunted, thanks to some American TV station. Their purely invented story started from the discovery of a stone on the island, marking the burial place of sailors and workers, who died of the plague in 1793.

A plaque, with the same text, has appeared on the island since my last visit.

#BoatTours #PlagueIslands #Venezia #Venice

Read more here: https://historywalksvenice.com/2024/12/the-lagoon-in-winter/

Antonio Moro and the Somachio

Antonio Moro came to Venice in January 1593 to work at the Lazzaretto Nuovo, where he left us a very interesting message on the wall.

#OTD #Plague #PlagueIslands #Sources #Venezia #Venice

https://historywalksvenice.com/social-media/antonio-moro-and-the-somachio/

Bad air will get you sick

Bad air was believed to be a major cause of sickness in the past, based on Aristotle’s idea of miasma as the cause of disease.

#TheLazzarettiOfVenice #Miasma #Plague #PlagueIslands #Venezia #Venice

https://historywalksvenice.com/substack/bad-air-will-get-you-sick/

Open day at the Lazzaretto Vecchio

The Lazzaretto Vecchio, the first stable plague hospital founded in Venice six hundred years ago this year, was open for guided visits this weekend.

The Lazzaretto Vecchio is not normally open to the public.

The island will become the National Archaeological Museum for the Venetian Lagoon, but the project is still in a very early stage. Many of the buildings are at risk of collapse, and it will cost millions before the island and the museum can open.

Below some photos from the open day on the Lazzaretto Vecchio.

#Plague #PlagueIslands #Venezia #Venice

Read more here: https://historywalksvenice.com/2023/09/open-day-at-the-lazzaretto-vecchio/