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.

A spatiotemporal reconstruction of the 1630 plague epidemic in Milan / M. Galli, R. Nodari, M. Perini, E. Luconi, L. Fois, F. Vaglienti, C. Bandi, E. Biganzoli, F. Comandatore. - In: ISCIENCE. - ISSN 2589-0042. - 26:5(2023 May 19), pp. 106704.1-106704.10. [10.1016/j.isci.2023.106704]

A spatiotemporal reconstruction of the 1630 plague epidemic in Milan

R. Nodari
;
E. Luconi;F. Vaglienti;C. Bandi;E. Biganzoli;F. Comandatore
Ultimo
2023

Abstract

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.
Biological sciences; Health sciences; Microbiology
Settore BIO/19 - Microbiologia Generale
Settore MED/01 - Statistica Medica
Settore M-STO/01 - Storia Medievale
19-mag-2023
20-apr-2023
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/968991
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