Emerging Infectious Diseases (Sep 2013)

Quinto Tiberio Angelerio and New Measures for Controlling Plague in 16th-Century Alghero, Sardinia

  • Raffaella Bianucci,
  • Ole Jørgen Benedictow,
  • Gino Fornaciari,
  • Valentina Giuffra

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3201/eid1909.120311
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 19, no. 9
pp. 1478 – 1483

Abstract

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Plague, a zoonotic disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, has been responsible for at least 3 pandemics. During 1582–1583, a plague outbreak devastated the seaport of Alghero in Sardinia. By analyzing contemporary medical texts and local documentation, we uncovered the pivotal role played by the Protomedicus of Alghero, Quinto Tiberio Angelerio (1532–1617), in controlling the epidemic. Angelerio imposed rules and antiepidemic measures new to the 16th-century sanitary system of Sardinia. Those measures undoubtedly spared the surrounding districts from the spread of the contagion. Angelerio seems to have been an extremely successful public health officer in the history of plague epidemics in Sardinia.

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