at the time of the Black Death, did Venice have sewers at all? or just open sewers, or even just the canals?

Question

just trying to find out really what the streets would have looked like in Venice at the time of the Black Plague (around 1630, I believe). Were they rat-infested, with horse dung and straw all over the place? Or were there sewers, but were they open sewers, or did they just throw everything into the canals?

Thanks for the help

P.S. only answers that actually refer to my questions. Links to the history of Venice with no reference to my question are not welcome and actually quite rude.

Answer 1

My friend from Venice tells me that the city has little or no sewerage system even today and most of the household waste empties into the canals untreated, where it washed away by the twice daily tides.

This is why there is such major concern about the plans to put tidal barriers across the lagoon. By cutting off the natural tides, no-one seems to be really sure what effect this will have on pollution.

The attached link from the Venice tourism site, has a copy of a letter from a doctor working at the time of the plague in 1630, describing what it was like in the city.

I'm not sure about the horse dung and straw, but I would have thought that Venice had a high rat population in 1630 bearing in mind its construction. As a major maritime port, it would have been at extreme risk of contracting the plague brought in from overseas - as such it proved.

Answer 2

Venice was an open sewer. A beautiful breeding ground for vermin. There wasn't anywhere the Black death didn't strike. It began in China and the Far East and thanks to the wonders of trade and sea going vessels it found it's way to all the major ports in Europe. Naturally carried by the sailors and the rats onboard the ships.

Answer 3

No city had sewers in those days. All waste was simply thrown into the street. Hence a life expectancy of about 40 years.