Dubrovnik, the medieval city planned for quarantine | World

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To understand the importance of quarantine during this modern pandemic, it is helpful to recall the history of the word “quarantine” itself, which dates back to medieval Europe.

The word “quarantine” has Italian roots: in an effort to protect the coastal cities from the Black Death that plagued 14th-century Europe, ships arriving in Venice from infected ports were to remain anchored for 40 days (quaranta giorni) before landing, a practice that was eventually known as quarantine, derived from ‘quarantine’, the Italian word for a 40-day period.

In 1374, a proclamation was issued in Venice, declaring that all ships and passengers should be stationed on the neighboring island of San Lazzaro until the special health council gave them permission to enter the city. “This led to discrimination against ships and travelers from certain countries, as well as other irregularities that regularly occurred in Venice,” writes co-author Ante Milošević in the book Lazaretto in Dubrovnik: The beginning of quarantine regulation in Europe.

Across the Adriatic Sea, in Ragusa (now Dubrovnik, Croatia), the city’s Grand Council passed an innovative law in 1377 to prevent the spread of the pandemic, requiring all incoming ships and caravans to arrive from infected areas to suffer 30 days of isolation.

The legislation, which in Latin was: “Veniens de locis pestiferis non intret Ragusium vel districtum” (those arriving from plague-infected areas must not enter Ragusa or its district “), stipulates that those who came from dangerous places must pass one month in the neighboring town of Cavtat or on the island of Mrkan for disinfection before entering the medieval walled town.

“Dubrovnik implemented a method that was not only fair, but also very wise and successful, and prevailed throughout the world,” writes Milošević.

Isolation and discipline are the two important things.

The doctor and co-author of the book, Ana Bakija-Konsuo, added that the difference between the two cities was that Dubrovnik was the first port in the Mediterranean to isolate people, animals and property from areas infected by sea or land, keeping them separated from the healthy population. , while Venice halted all ships and commerce, disrupting life in the city.

The Republic of Ragusan imposed very strict penalties and fines on criminals who did not follow the 30-day quarantine law (Trentina, as the term was written in a document found in the Dubrovnik archives of July 27, 1377).

At first, the quarantine was 30 days, but ended up extending to 40 days, as in Venice.

No one knows exactly why the isolation period was changed from 30 to 40 days: some suggest that 30 days was considered insufficient to prevent the spread of the disease, as the exact incubation period was unknown; Others believe that the 40-day quarantine was related to the Christian observance of Lent. Others believe that the 40 days are based on biblical accounts such as the great flood, Moses stayed on Mount Sinai or Jesus’ 40 days in the desert. Venice made the 40 days official in 1448, when the Venetian Senate added 10 days to the 30-day quarantine rule for ships entering its port.

In Lazaretto, Dubrovnik, the Dubrovnik government came up with the idea of ​​quarantine as a result of its experience in isolating leprosy victims to prevent the spread of the disease, Bakija-Konsuo writes.

Throughout its history, Dubrovnik has been devastated by numerous diseases, with leprosy and plague posing the greatest threats to public health.

“Historical science has undoubtedly demonstrated Dubrovnik’s pioneering spirit in the ‘invention’ of quarantine,” said Bakija-Konsuo.

“Isolation, as a concept, had already been applied before 1377, as mentioned in the Statute of the city of Dubrovnik, written in 1272, and where the isolation of patients with leprosy is mentioned for the first time. This Statute is among some of the oldest documents Legal requirements of Croatia “.

Bakija-Konsuo explains that Lazarus was declared patron of lepers by the Church, because, according to the Bible, he suffered from leprosy. In this way, the shelters for the sick bore his name and were called lazarettos.

After Ragusa established Europe’s first temporary plague hospital on the island of Mljet, quarantine facilities across Europe became known as “lazarettos”.

Bakija-Konsuo said that, following Ragusa’s isolation legislation in 1377, the quarantine was first implemented in Cavtat, a small town located southeast of Dubrovnik and on the nearby islands (Supetar, Mrkan and Bobara).

“Initially, quarantine shelters were poor, makeshift, in cabins, tents, and sometimes outdoors. The benefit of the cabins was that they could be easily burned as a disinfection measure,” he says.

In 1397, the decision was made to establish a quarantine at the Benedictine monastery on the island of Mljet. The lazaretto at Danče was built in 1430, and later a larger, more modern lazaretto was built on the island of Lokrum.

On February 12, 1590, the Dubrovnik Senate decreed that the last lazaretto should be built at Ploče, the eastern entrance to the old town. The construction of the lazaretto complex was completed around 1647; In 1724, the Senate proclaimed it an integral part of the city’s fortifications.

“The Lazaretto retained its original function long after the fall of the Republic of Dubrovnik, but we are not sure about the year it was abolished as a health institution; according to the National Archives in Dubrovnik, it was around 1872,” he said. Bakija -Konsuo.

“This impressive stone building represents not only a unique architectural complex, but also an institution that best describes the rich medical heritage of old Dubrovnik.”

Dubrovnik’s lazarettos, today tourist attractions that host cultural events such as concerts and traditional Linđo (Lindjo) folk dances, are a reminder of the city’s fight to fight infectious diseases centuries ago.

Ivan Vuković Vuka, a historical tour guide in Dubrovnik, born and raised in the city, remembers going to lazarettos for parties and outdoor concerts on hot summer nights, just to feel a bit of a breeze.

The lazarettos (locally called “Lazaret” or “Lazareti”) are located about 300 meters from the stone walls of the old town.

“Within the city walls, any type of disease can be easily transmitted, so the facilities of the lazarettos are very large and spacious areas divided into 10 multi-storey buildings, so there is always enough air,” he says, looking at the views. views of the old port of the city.

The Lazaretto complex consists of 10 lazarettos, five patios and two sentry boxes. According to Dr. Vesna Miović, co-author of Lazaretto in Dubrovnik, all travelers who came from suspicious (infected) areas were housed on the porches, on the floor, with a roof structure and barred windows; and in houses on the Lazaretto plateau (also called “the upper lazaretto”).

Quarantined travelers could freely walk on the plateau and even had small terraces where they could breathe fresh air, but they were prohibited from mixing with those who had already been released from quarantine or who lived outside the lazarettos complex.

With the city currently in quarantine due to Covid-19, tourism, the lifeblood of the Croatian economy and one of Dubrovnik’s main sources of income, has halted.

All cruises are suspended until June, and on March 19, 2020, Croatia implemented a temporary ban on transit through border crossings to help prevent the spread of the virus. “For now, all borders are closed; in Croatia, you can’t even move between cities,” said Vuković Vuka.

American Airlines canceled its nonstop flights from Philadelphia to Dubrovnik during 2020; Other European and international airlines suspended flights until June.

After the excess of tourism, now it is missing

“Even during the 1990s war, Dubrovnik was not that empty,” says Vuković Vuka.

“You can hear the silence and even the low echoes on the cobblestone.”

Dubrovniki has already suffered from an excess of tourists, generating overcrowding and degradation of historical sites, but now the problem is different. The city is empty, and even residents cannot go outside.

Croats, like their Mediterranean neighbors, are social beings who like to chat and have coffee in cafes. “Greedy people drive Croats crazy, we like to hug and kiss like Italians and Spaniards,” says Vuković Vuka. “We joke that coffee is actually the rehabilitation of those who go to the bar a lot.”

Unlike Dubrovnik’s old quarantine law, people today have the option of self-isolation from the comfort of their homes; Nevertheless, “[o] The problem with people in Dubrovnik is that they also live in large communities with their parents and grandparents; therefore, they must be careful not to become infected from them, “said Vuković Vuka.