In 1403, Venice established the world’s first known maritime quarantine station, or lazaretto, on Santa Maria di Nazareth, an island in the Venetian lagoon.

Between the 14th and 16th centuries, Dubrovnik was a key hub in the trade between the Ottoman Empire and the West, and its lazaret, or quarantine station, was built in 1627 to isolate the ill and prevent plagues from entering the city through people on the ships entering its port