Lo chiamavano Catelano

In the second half of the fifteenth century, the Health Office, to which Duke Francesco Sforza entrusted the responsibility for the compilation and conservation of the Registers of the Dead of Milan, was made up of a doctor-surgeon commonly called “Catelano”, specialized in detecting disease epidemics. In his diagnoses, the Catelano followed a well-established practice, marked by extreme prudence, before proceeding with the cer- tification of the death event or denouncing the occurrence of an epidemic phenomenon. Having a constantly updated map of epidemic outbreaks of any nature – plague, but also typhoid fever, smallpox, leprosy, syphilis, pneumonia, etc. – made it possible to quickly identify the “patient zero” and implement measures to contain the contagion. It is also interesting that in the Milanese registers of the dead of the fifteenth century, the descriptions were not limited to the cases of contagion, but also included all the pathologies present in the sick or deceased and the causes of traumatic death (voluntary or accidental). These data, in addition to establishing that the death was not natural with the consequent launch of an investigation by the compe- tent judiciary authority, demonstrate the ducal will to assess the health risks of certain environmental or professional contexts.