The Great Plague of Milan

Cherry

By luigi_pagano

Wed, 29 Apr 2020
  • 3133 reads
14 comments
 

 

The sixteen-thirty Italian plague
reached Milan, then Lombardy
and spread as far as Florence
putting the citizens in jeopardy.
 
They initiated health measures,
like quarantine and isolation,
yet the pestilence did not stop
and decimated the population.
 
Nearly half of Milan's dwellers
died of the pox that was malign.
Commerce was at a standstill,
the economy went into decline.
 
A historical novel describes how
the situation was not at all rosy.
Written by Alessandro Manzoni
it was called “I promessi sposi”. * *
 
The virus most probably spread
because of the carnival season.
That Venice abandoned restraint
was cited as the main reason.
 
Many casualties were treated
in a hospital called Lazzaretto
housed on a isle in the lagoon
that is reachable by vaporetto.
 
How odd it is that 400 years later
the epidemic hit the same region;
there are infected people galore
and the fatalities too are legion.
 
It is a new strain of a disease
which is more virulent than flu;
as we had outbreaks in the past
we could say that it is déjà vu.   

 

© Luigi Pagano 2020
 
* * The Betrothed  
Certificate U
Poem
Mutevoli pensieri
Historical Fiction

Comments

Submitted by onemorething on

A very interesting piece, Luigi, and yes, history does unfortunately repeat, it makes you wonder what really changes in essence - we humans do like to congregate, a little like pigeons, I always think. Have you read The Betrothed? Is there a translated version? I'm going to look, I'd quite like to read it.

Rachel x

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

Hello Rachel, what I found very odd was the eerie similarity between the two pandemics both starting and spreading in the same region, I have read the book in its original language. It was a classic, being the first novel written in modern 'Italian' (derived from the Tuscan dialect), a departure from Latin.In my schooldays was part of the curriculum. There are many PDF free translations online. Here are some links:
https://freeditorial.com/en/books/the-betrothed--4
https://manybooks.net/titles/manzonia3515535155.html
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Betrothed_(Manzoni)
The third one seems good to me but there are many more one can Google if these won't do.
Happy reading.

Luigi x

 

 

 

 

 

Submitted by onemorething on

This is very kind of you Luigi, thank you! Rachel x

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

Hi Rachel, I may have a go myself at reading a translated version of it. I still remember the beginning in Italian: "Quel ramo del lago di Como che volge a mezzogiorno..."
Did you pick any from those links? You might find the novel old fashioned but it contains a lot of involved and interesting themes. I'd like to hear your views if you have decided to go ahead.
Good reading.

Luigi x

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

The fragility of present life revealed by these things. Normally we can push it to the back of our mind and pretend that we are in full control, and thought of this life's end and the next can be safely forgotten, It is also easy to try to cast blame around rather than realise all that so many are doing with good motivation, even if mistakes are made, especially with hindsight. Rhiannon

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

Hi Rhiannon.
You are absolutely right. The fragility of the current situation mirrors that experienced by the victims of that 1630 pandemic. Although the general assumption is that history teaches us to recognise our mistakes and learn from them, we tend to forget the lesson and repeat the same blunders not only as pandemics are concerned but in other ways too. With the present virus there is a lot of uncertainty and it is difficult to relate to past events as we don't really know how it spreads. Some countries have adopted strict isolation measures to contain infection like those that proved successful in the 1665 Eyam plague. Others have used restraint to a lesser degree and that has given rise to recriminations regarding the speed to remedy the situation but as you rightly say although we are bound to make mistakes the motivation is good.
Thanks for reading and commenting.

Luigi x 

 

Submitted by littleditty on

from History? Deja vu but I wonder who remembers..except you and Alessandro...and me now ive read your poem! History is on Repeat repeat..read some great articles comparing our plague response to the 1630/40s...are you hinting in the middle there that restraint and caution might be a good idea going forward?! Interesting read...im wonderjng if we will be living it up like Venice over the summer...

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

Nicky, lovely to hear from you. We are indeed supposed to learn from history but never do; the same mistakes are made over again and not only in the case of virus pandemics.
When I spoke of restraint I wasn't advocating that as a permanent solution, I was merely stating that the Carnival of Venice with hundreds, possibly thousands, of people attending contributed to the spread of the disease. Personally I think that testing on the community ought to be a priority but what do I know? I am not a scientist, just a scribbler.
The future is a bit uncertain at the moment.

Warm regards, Luigi x

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Luigi, you have sold this book! I have looked it up, too and hope to start listening to it on Amazon. Thankyou so much for your informative and (as always) cleverly rhyming poem

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

Dear Di, thanks for the feedback. Look up those links of free PDF I gave Rachel. You might find them useful unless you prefer Amazon. I am glad you like the rhyming, not everyone does.
Nice hearing from you.

Luigi x
 

 

 

Submitted by Tom Brown on

Nature fights back.

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

You hit the nail on the head, Tom. Thanks for reading and commenting. Much appreciated.

Best wishes, Luigi

 

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

Catching up ... I wonder if the similarilty has to do with the fact that it's always been quite a densely populated region? Anyway - I enjoyed this, thank you Luigi

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

Yes Claudine, even in those days, when Italy was not an unified country but an amalgam of independent states and foreign powers, Milan was a busy commercial city. But what aggravated the situation was that, as a result of troop movements associated with the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), German and French troops carried the plague to the city of Mantua in 1629. Venetian troops, infected with the disease, retreated into northern and central Italy, spreading the infection. 
The fact that carnival celebrations were going on at the same time did not help.

I appreciate that you have a lot of catching up as the material posted on ABC at the moment is plentiful and of high standard, so thanks for stopping by and being the benevolent carrier not of the dreaded virus but an appetising cherry.

Luigi x