The Plague Which Hit the City of Bologna in the Year 1630
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Le Infezioni in Medicina, n. 1, 145-156, 2021 INFECTIONS IN THE HISTORY OF MEDICINE 145 The plague which hit the city of Bologna in the year 1630 Sergio Sabbatani1, Sirio Fiorino2, Roberto Manfredi3 1Infectious Diseases Specialist; 2 Internal Medicine, Budrio Hospital, Azienda USL di Bologna, Bologna, Italy; 3Infectious Disease Institute, Policlinico S. Orsola-Malpighi, Bologna University, Bologna, Italy SUMMARY In the year 1630, similarly to other cities of Northern were organized outside of the city walls and relevant Italy, Bologna was affected by a plague epidemic. It oc- sums supported the clean operation of over 3,000 hous- curred after the arrival of Lansquenet troops, engaged es. The city Senate sustained the poor population with a by the Emperor Frederick II in the siege of Mantua city. sum of 700,000 lire and grain donations. Even if the loss The human losses have been calculated by the historian of human lives was high, it resulted not so dramatic, demographer Bellettini in the terms of around 15,000 compared with that paid by other Italian cities. From people, so that the number of inhabitants in Bologna a cultural point of view, according to the belief of the declined from 62,000 to 47,000 units in the time span scientific knowledge of that time, the miasmatic theo- of 7-8 months. Initially, during the winter and the early ries were still considered satisfactory, although in the spring, although the plague epidemic had been known common practice the people who could leave the city after that it involved many cities close to Bologna (i.e. escaped from Bologna, in order to avoid the contagion. Turin, Milan, Venice, Genoa and Verona), the popula- We can argue that the impact of the epidemic was re- tion tried to keep the epidemic hidden, being afraid that duced by means of the organizational approach with commerce exchanged could be affected by this event. strict isolation measures for sick persons, the closing of Later, starting from the month of May, under the guid- the city walls in the urban areas more affected by the ance of cardinal Bernardino Spada, cooperating with the plague, and finally a sanctionatory and punitive ap- numerous religious orders and in particular with the proach for individuals, who disregarded the applied one of Camillians, the city reacted, launching an orga- rules. nization effort which significantly aided in the contain- ment of the plague epidemic. A number of Lazzarettos Keywords: Plague, Landsknechts, infectious diseases. n INTRODUCTION plague epidemic. In particular, Moreschi in a pa- per written around 300 years after the events, pro- n a previous research of ours we retrieved some posed an estimate of around 12,000 people dead in Idocuments catalogued and kept at the State Ar- the year 1527; the city at that time hosted around chives of Bologna and we re-assessed the historic- 55,000 inhabitants [2, 3]. Such a relevant amount of demographic figures of the Bologna city popula- deaths was expected to cause a true slaughter and tion published by Bellettini in 1960s, with the pur- this massacre should have determined a severe de- pose to study the events occurred in the city of Bo- mographic impact with secondary effects causing logna and its surroundings in the year 1527 [1, 2]. a huge decline of the city over the entire century. The authors, who did not live during those times, Actually, such a decline was not recorded by the reported that in the year 1527, the city of Bologna local chronicles. From a research of ours conducted and its neighbourhood had been involved by a at the State Archive of Bologna no documents had been retrieved, including in particular laws and municipal orders, pointing out particular health Corresponding author alerts during the year 1527 and in the following Sergio Sabbatani years [1]. The historian demography published E-mail: [email protected] by Bellettini did not show a deflection of Bologna 146 S. Sabbatani, S. Fiorino, R. Manfredi 4 population in the first half of the XVI century; on the contrary the population remained indeed sta- ble, showing a demographic increase during the decade 1580-1590 [2]. In summary, our research showed that in the year 1527 a small plague epi- demic occurred. It involved some families, living in one of most peripheral and of the poorest urban area, very close to the city walls, which was named Borgo di San Pietro (St. Peter district). This intro- duction becomes interesting in the perspective of a study on the tragic epidemic, which scourged Bo- logna during the year 1630. In the year 1527, prob- ably due to the fear of the plague diffusion (after the Lansquenets invasion the entire Italy had been scourged by this infectious disease together with the famine following war events), the activity of a Fraternity of believers of Our Lady had emerged and had consolidated. It had been founded a few years before. Briefly, ten years before, in the year 1527, the devotion of the residents, living in the small St. Peter district had inspired the construction of a small church, located just near the city walls [4]. This church was built in the same place where a wooden statue of the Blessed Virgin, sculpted in the XIII century, had been located. According83 to Figure 1 - Title page of the complete collection of all the tradition, just the health risk led to the flour- public notices, orders, and provisions. ishment of the worship of Our Lady, concurrently with the increase of the charitable activities of84 the Figure 1 - Title page of the complete collection of all public notices, orders, and provisions. Brotherhoods of believers in the city. Starting from Moratti also considered the documents produced 1527, this worship extended to the whole city of by the city Magistrature, and the memories writ- Bologna. Later, The Holy Virgin of the St. Peter 85dis - ten by the physicians who were engaged during trict was called Madonna del Soccorso, (Our Lady the plague epidemic and left their testimonial [6] of the Rescue) and the small church took the same (Figure1). name. 86 AnotherAnother ecclesiastical ecclestiastical writer, writer,Father Luigi Father da Gat Luigi- da Gatteo, after around three centuries carried out his teo, after around three centuries carried out his The plague epidemic in Bologna, in the year 163087 searchsearch, ,by by consulting consulting the available the available bibliographic bibliographic documents, and the archive sources. This priest In the city of Bologna, the witness and chronicler documents, and the archive sources. This priest of facts was an Abbot of the Celestines’ monas88 - wrotewrote an an essay essay where wh heere reported he reported the acts ofthe the acts of the Magistrature, the health care providers, and the try, Father Pietro Moratti [5]. Beyond his person- Magistrature, the health care providers, and the al witness and that of citizens who escaped89 the correspondencecorrespondence kept kept with thewith Rome the embassy Rome [7]. embassy [7]. In the fight against the plague epidemic in plague epidemic, he reported data from all large In the fight against the plague epidemic in Bo- and small documents produced at that time. First90 Bologna,logna, during during the year the 1630, year a relevant 1630, role a wasrelevant role was played by the cardinal Bernardino Spada of all, we remind the collection of public notices played by the cardinal Bernardino Spada (Bri- and laws promulgated during the critical period91 (Brisighellasighella 1594-Roma 1594 1661).-Roma This 1661). high prelate This washigh prelate was present and active during the entire period of when, under the guidance of the Cardinal Ber- present and active during the entire period of the nardino Spada1, the city activated all its resourc92 - theplague plague scourge, scourge, coordinating coordinating the efforts aimed the effortsto aimed to limit the contagion and working to help the es in order to face the epidemic scourge, Father limit the contagion and working to help the poor- 93 poorerer population, population, forced toforced remain to in remain the city. inThe the city. The cardinal Spada was able to rely on the work of 1Collection of all public notices, laws and provisions cardinal Spada was able to rely on the work of the released for the city of Bologna in the event of contagion,94 theCamillian Camillian fathers, fathers, who were who present were in present the city in the city with a comunity of around 20 priests (professed present and imminent, Bologna, 1631. with a comunity of around 20 priests (professed 95 members, students, and some oblates); the Superior of Camillian order was represented by Father 96 Giovanni Battista Campana from Rome, aged 28 years only. During the 7 months of the epidemic 97 the majority of Bologna inhabitants could not take refuge in the countryside or in the numerous 98 mansions located in the near hills and mountains, differently from nobles and rich people belonging 99 to the merchant classes. If cardinal Spada took his place, the behaviour of the Cardinal legate 100 Antonio Barberini (Pope Urbano VIII’s nephew), was less commendable, since he escaped to 101 Bertinoro2 and remained there during the entire period of the epidemic. All Magistrates, physicians, 2Bertinoro, a small town on the Romagna hills, is located at around 12 km from Cesena city centre, and 15 km far from Forlì. 4 5 102 health care personnel and Lazaretto officers asked for a guidance to the Cardinal Spada. He was the 103 highest religious authority of the city and exerted as vicarious the politic power too. The Cardinal 104 Spada kept all contacts with the Cardinal Francesco Barberini, who informed the Pope of Rome on 105 the course of the scourge.