Since 1346, the plague rampaged through Venice, halving its population with great ease. And so an island near the lido was transformed into the Lazzaretto, where those who had caught the disease were confined and treated, almost always awaiting a near death. Now, that island was later renamed lazzaretto vecchio, or old lazaretto, when the Lazzaretto Noovo was established, which is the long stretch of land on the right as you leave Murano towards Torcello; the Lazzaretto Novo was once a large monastery, but in the 15th century the Venetian State decreed that it should become a place for the prevention of contagion; and so people suspected of being plague-ridden, especially those on board incoming ships, were put in quarantena, meaning they had to spend 40 days on the island before being deemed clean and fit to enter the city.
When the plague bouts ended in the late 16th century, the island was abandoned, and today is a great example of island recovery in the lagoon, at the centre of various cultural and historical projects.
