After a plague epidemic kills 100,000 people in Naples, Rome begins inspecting all incoming ships
In 1656, after a plague epidemic kills 100,000 people in Naples, Rome began inspecting all incoming ships and…
Florentine scholar Francesco Rondinelli described the use of the “Wine Windows” to prevent the spread of the Plague
In 1634, the Florentine scholar, Francesco Rondinelli, wrote a report about a disease contagion, now known as the…
Sanitary legislation was drawn up in Venice to address plague epidemics
In 1629, sanitary legislation was drawn up in Venice that required health officers to visit homes during plague…
Ships entering Italian ports during plague outbreaks were required to lie at anchor for forty days (a Quaranta Giorni) prior to docking
In 1377, ships entering Italian ports during plague outbreaks were required to lie at anchor for forty days…
The town of Ragusa in Italy established a quarantine station
In 1370, the town of Ragusa in Italy established a quarantine station where all people arriving from plague-infected…
Venice established the world’s first institutionalized system of quarantine
In 1348, Venice established the world’s first institutionalized system of quarantine that gave a council of three the…
The Duke of Milan drew up an edict mandating that all those suffering from plague should be taken outside the city
In 1348, the Duke of Milan drew up an edict mandating that all those suffering from plague should…
In an early act of biological warfare, Tartars catapulted the bodies of Plague victims at invading Christians
In 1346, during a siege of Kaffa (now Feodosia, Ukraine), the Tartar army catapulted bodies of plague victims…
Fleas riding on black rats in the holds of Italian ships brought Yersina pestis to the Sicilian port of Messina
In 1346, spread by infected galleys coming from Kaffa (Crimea), the Black Death reached Genoa, as it now…
The first hospitals were established in England
From 1050-1350 marked a particularly active phase of the disease that made necessary the introduction of large-scale specialist…
Outbreaks of bubonic plague declined after claiming half of Europe’s population
In 541, an outbreak of bubonic plague (yersina pestis), a bacterial disease later named the Black Plague or…
DNA evidence of plague found in Europe
Evidence from 4,800 to 3,700 years ago suggested the plague-causing bacterium Yersinia pestis, first arrived in Europe during…
The Plague of Athens devastated the city-state of Athens in ancient Greece
In 430 BCE, a plague struck the city of Athens, which was then under siege by Sparta during…
Roman emperor Justinian ordered travelers from plague infected regions isolated
Emperor Justinian I (482-565 BCE) contracted the plague, but survived. A series of laws were enacted against those…