Venetian quarantine facilities

In this very special year 2020, as a first project, the Foundation decided to support the Venetian Lazzaretti. These are symbolic and precious places, still an authentic part of Venice, an emblem of identity and resistance in an area put under severe strain by mass tourism and climate change. The Lazzaretti system is made up of an Old Lazzaretto and a New Lazzaretto, spread over two islands in the lagoon.

Thanks to a pioneering non-profit recovery project, the Venetian Lazzaretti, the gateway to Venice for three centuries, today tell thousands of visitors an important story through an eco-museum and various activities, which preserve and enhance a fragile territory.

A crossroads for sea voyages and meetings between cultures, as early as the 15th century the Republic of Venice implemented the first real public health strategy to control infectious diseases. In fact, the Lazzaretti were central to an innovation that allowed the public to overcome the fear of disease and to provide systems for methodologies that even today – dramatically relevant again – allow the whole world to imagine a peaceful future and innovative solutions to complex problems.

Also in terms of landscape, the New Lazzaretto is a story about enhancement and biodiversity, thanks to the sandbanks path, the Sentiero delle Barene. Created together with the Museum of Natural History of Venice, this nature trail runs along the old military “patrol beat” and is dedicated to the typical environment of the Venetian lagoon and to a rare ecosystem at risk of disappearing.

Thanks to the Foundation’s support, the Lazzaretti Veneziani will be able to build their new website and start a series of virtual tours, opening up to a new, increasingly digital dimension. The fund will also guarantee free visits to the island for twenty school classes over the course of 2021.