Oltre i Lazzaretti: le isole della laguna veneziana come cordone sanitario d’emergenza in età moderna

Venice is known for being the first city to design and build, since the second decade of the 15th century, permanent structures to prevent and treat epidemics. However, as in contemporary emergency health care plans, a selection of additional lagoon islands functioned as supplementary shelters during outbreaks of diseases. This paper analyses the socio-political role of these settlements as a response to the plagues of 1575-1577 and 1630-1631 and their use as capillary structures for the public health apparatus of the Republic.