A closer look
Social distancing in Renaissance Venice involved literal banishment to a plague island. Starting in the 15th century, the city handled outbreaks by forcibly shipping anyone showing symptoms off to Lazzaretto Vecchio. It was less of a hospital and more of a terminal waiting room. At its peak, the death toll reached 500 people a day. Modern archaeological digs have uncovered thousands of skeletons stacked like cordwood, proving just how ruthless the Venetian republic was about pandemic control.
