engleski

Public health officers (the Cazzamorti) control the arrival of ships and caravans during the plague epidemics in Dubrovnik

The maritime city-state Dubrovnik(Ragusa), Croatia, developed an exemplary system of public health regulations in the 14th-16th c.The recurring outbreaks of the plague forced Ragusans to institute the first systematic quarantine in 1377, legislation later adopted by Venice, Genoa and Marseilles. Since the medical profession, was unable to prevent plague epidemics, the Government nominated Public Health Officers (Officiales Cazzamortuorum ) from the ranks of nobles. They founded the Health Office as early as 1397 that firmly believed in the infectious nature of plague, a revolutionary idea at the time. This research is based on the critical analysis of the manuscript Libro delji Signori Cazzamorbi, 1500-1530, from the Series 55, Sanitas in the Dubrovnik Archives. While the Libro a tergo, records the trial proceedings conducted by Health Officers, The Libro a recto, records the arrival of ships, caravans and travelers to Dubrovnik, providing a wealth of statistical information. It has allowed us to compile a list of places, regions and countries that had contact with Dubrovnik. The greater the danger of plague in Dubrovnik , the more frequent were the entries in the register: under the threat of imprisonment and monetary fines, the travelers had to swear that they had not visited a pestiferous area two months prior to their arrival. The activities of the Health Officers were fairly succesful, so that plague stopped being endemic in the region after 1530. The Dubrovnik example found followers in western Mediterranean ports, thus becoming the precursor of anti-epidemic measures in Europe.

public health officers (the Cazzamorti); plague; city-state Dubrovnik; Ragusa; Croatia; 14-16th century

nije evidentirano