Cristofano and the Plague: A Study in the History of Public Health in the Age of Galileo

"Seventeenth century Italy had the most advanced system of public health in Europe. Ser Cristofano of Giulio Ceffini, a prominent citizen of Prato and a member of the board of public health, was at the height of the [plague of 1630] entrusted with special powers and used them. Check points were set up, gates closed and guarded, the doors of infected houses were nailed up from the outside, quarantine for suspected contacts was enforced, a pesthouse and a convalescent home were organised, staffed, and supplied. But there simply was not enough money to meet a host of extraordinary expenses. It was poverty as much as ignorance that helped the microbes do as much harm as they did in spite of Cristofano and his colleagues"--Page [2] of jacket.