Lazzaretto Nuovo Island Island

Lazzaretto Nuovo, a quarantine island

Close to Sant'Erasmo, in the northern lagoon, the small island of Lazzaretto Nuovo became in 1468 one of the main instruments of sanitary defense of the Republic of Venice. While the Lazzaretto Vecchio housed declared patients, the "Nuovo" was intended for prevention: ships arriving from suspicious ports, their crews and their goods were placed in quarantine before being authorized to enter the city.

The island however had a history much earlier than the epidemics. Known in the Middle Ages as Vigna Murada, it belonged to the Benedictines of San Giorgio Maggiore and housed a church dedicated to Saint Bartholomew, cultivated lands and saltworks. From the 15th century, Venice transformed it into a true sanitary frontier, where control of men, monitoring of cargoes and disinfection of goods protected both the population and trade.

After the gradual abandonment of its sanitary function in the 18th century, the island was integrated into the defensive system of the lagoon under the French and then Austrian dominations, which explains its walls, bastions and military installations. Today restored and transformed into an ecomuseum, it combines historical heritage, archaeological research and discovery of the lagoon environment, notably thanks to the Barene Path which runs along the surrounding wetlands.

Visit: Lazzaretto Nuovo is not an island where you land freely. Visits and openings are scheduled mainly between April and October, with historical, archaeological or naturalistic tours. It is therefore essential to consult the calendar and booking procedures before going there.

Sources and further information: Lazzaretti Veneziani – History of Lazzaretto Nuovo ; Lazzaretti Veneziani – Tezon Grande and collections ; Lazzaretti Veneziani – calendar of visits and events 2026.