Italian Plague of 1629–1631
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The '''Italian Plague of 1629–1631''' was a series of outbreaks of [[bubonic plague]] which occurred from [[1629]] through [[1631]] in northern [[Italy]]. This [[epidemic]], often referred to as '''Great Plague of Milan''', claimed the lives of approximately 280,000 people, with the cities of [[Lombardy]] and [[Venice]] experiencing particularly high death rates. This episode is considered one of the last outbreaks of the centuries-long [[pandemic]] of bubonic plague which began with the [[Black Death]].
==Outbreaks==
[[Germany|German]] and [[France|French]] troops carried the plague to the city of [[Mantua]] in 1629, as a result of troop movements associated with the [[Thirty Years' War]] (1618–1648). [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]] troops, infected with the disease, retreated into northern and central Italy, spreading the infection.
In October 1629, the plague reached [[Milan]], Lombardy's major commercial center. Although the city initiated effective public health measures, including [[quarantine]] and limiting the access of German soldiers and trade goods, the plague smoldered. A major outbreak in March 1630 was due to relaxed health measures during the [[carnival]] season. This was followed by a second wave in the spring and summer of 1631. Overall, Milan suffered approximately 60,000 fatalities out of a total population of 130,000.
East of Lombardy, the Republic of Venice was infected in 1630–31. The city of [[Venice]] was severely hit, with recorded casualties of 46,000 people out of a population of 140,000. Some historians believe the drastic loss of life, and its impact on commerce, ultimately resulted in the downfall of Venice as a major commercial and political power. The [[Papal States|papal]] city of [[Bologna]] lost an estimated 15,000 citizens to the plague, with neighboring smaller cities of [[Modena]] and [[Parma]] also being heavily affected. This outbreak of plague also spread north into [[Tyrol]], an alpine region of western [[Austria]] and northern Italy.
Later outbreaks of bubonic plague in Italy include the city of [[Florence]] in 1630–33 and the areas surrounding [[Naples]], [[Rome]] and [[Genoa]] in 1656–57.
==Literature==
The 1630 plague in Milan is the backdrop for several chapters of [[Alessandro Manzoni]]'s novel ''[[The Betrothed]]'' ([[Italian language|Italian]]: ''I promessi sposi''). Although a work of fiction, Manzoni's description of the conditions and events in plague-ravaged Milan are completely historical and extensively documented from primary sources researched by Manzoni.
An expunged section of the book, describing the historical trial and execution of three alleged "plague-spreaders", was later published in a booklet entitled ''Storia della colonna infame'' (History of the infamous pillar).
==See also==
*[[List of Bubonic plague outbreaks]]
*[[Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute]]
==References==
* Cipolla, Carlo M. ''Fighting the Plague in Seventeenth Century Italy''. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1981.
* Prinzing, Freidrich. ''Epidemics Resulting from Wars''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1916.
{{Italy-hist-stub}}
[[Category:Epidemics]]
[[Category:Thirty Years' War]]
[[Category:History of Milan]]
[[Category:17th century in Italy]]
[[simple:Italian Plague of 1629-1631]]