Isolation and quarantine: still valid after two centuries

As the majority of us sit at home in isolation, it is instructive to look back two centuries to see how our forebears dealt with similar contagion. The following is based on a document outlining the measures to be taken in the event of a resurgence of the plague in Valletta.

The plans are dated October 1813 – just a few weeks after the plague had died down. They were devised by Francesco Rivarola, who had been appointed Inspector General.

The plans, entitled ‘New Division of Valette and Marina’, were intended as a means of regulating the city in a manner that would be “less expensive to government and lighter to subjects”. Since issues of isolation and quarantine are having a considerable impact these days, I have selected only similar issues.

[attach id=864878 size="large" align="left" type="image"]The first page of the new plan of organisation dated 1813.[/attach]

In preparation for a resurgence of the plague, Valletta would be divided into 24 districts (not the eight districts that were created during the actual outbreak).

The marina area was to be subdivided into two additional districts. Within the city itself, Strada Reale, Strada San Cristoforo and Strada Levante, as well...