A spatiotemporal reconstruction of the 1630 plague epidemic in Milan
Massimo Galli,
Riccardo Nodari,
Matteo Perini,
Ester Luconi,
Luca Fois,
Folco Vaglienti,
Claudio Bandi,
Elia Biganzoli,
Francesco Comandatore
Affiliations
Massimo Galli
Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
Riccardo Nodari
Romeo ed Enrica Invernizzi Paediatric Research Centre, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy; Corresponding author
Matteo Perini
Romeo ed Enrica Invernizzi Paediatric Research Centre, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy; Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
Ester Luconi
Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
Luca Fois
Department of Humanities, Section of Historical and Geographical Science, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
Folco Vaglienti
Department of Historical Studies, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
Claudio Bandi
Romeo ed Enrica Invernizzi Paediatric Research Centre, Department of Biosciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
Elia Biganzoli
Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
Francesco Comandatore
Romeo ed Enrica Invernizzi Paediatric Research Centre, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
Summary: In 1630, a devastating plague epidemic struck Milan, one of the most important Italian cities of that time, deeply affecting its demography and economy for decades. The lack of digitized historical data strongly limits our comprehension of that important event. In this work, we digitized and analyzed the Milan death registers of 1630. The study revealed that the epidemic evolved differently among the areas of the city. Indeed, we were able to group the parishes of the city (comparable with modern neighborhoods) in two groups based on their epidemiological curves. These different epidemiological progressions could reflect socio-economical and/or demographic features specific of the neighborhoods, opening questions about the relationship between these features and the evolution of epidemics in the pre-modern period. The study of historical records, like the one presented here, can help us to better understand European history and pre-modern epidemics.
