Venetians invented quarantine

Venice's initial experience with quarantine dates back to the Middle Ages! Venice is where the term quarantine originally appeared, which is one of the interesting facts about Venice. Because Venice's economy was based largely on maritime trade, it was inevitable that ships that anchored in the city would also carry disease epidemics with them. The bubonic plague, popularly known as the Black Death, was particularly dangerous to Venice. They understood that to stop the sickness from spreading at this time, they needed to take drastic action. In the fourteenth century, Venice sought to shield her populace from potential shipborne epidemics. First, as was already said, they made all ships anchor for forty days. The term "quarantine" was first used in Italian for these Quaranta Giorni or quarantine.

Second, they made good use of the surrounding islands of Lazzaretto Vecchio and Lazzaretto Nuovo. When the plague first struck Venice in the middle of the fourteenth century, it wasn't long before they came up with a brilliant concept. All plague victims were sent to Lazzaretto Vecchio for isolation and medical care. Lazzaretto Nuovo served as the port of arrival for ships carrying possibly ill crew members or passengers. These two islands were Venice's public health response, and considering the historical period, it was rather successful. They might leave if the illness symptoms disappeared after 40 days.