Since the Ancient Age and throughout the Modern Age the plague had always sailed on the Mediterranean, causing severe and widespread epidemics. However, at the end of the 17th century epidemics were decreasing in number and intensity. The plague was still present in the Mediterranean area, but it was mainly concentrated in the Eastern part of the sea, because the disease came mainly from the East, where prevention was adopted with less attention. In the West, and in particular in the Kingdom of Naples, thanks also to the memory of the past, and above all to the memory of the serious 1656 epidemic, rulers had become more intransigent than the years before. In fact, by then they had well learned the importance of prevention, of isolation and quarantine, to protect the coasts from the attacks of the plague. Apulia, which faced the Adriatic and the East, was more in danger than other Southern areas. Active trades between the two Adriatic shores, together with other factors, made Apulia a particularly vulnerable region. Thus, Neapolitan authorities were forced to impose a strict and continuous control over the Apulian coasts because only thanks to such a rigorous control it was possible to defend not only the Adriatic area but also the whole kingdom.
Fin dall'antichità e per tutta l'età moderna la peste aveva sempre navigato sul Mediterraneo, causando epidemie gravi e diffuse su ampi territori. Tuttavia, sul finire del Seicento gli episodi epidemici si andavano riducendo di numero e di intensità. La peste era ancora presente nell'area mediterranea, ma si concentrava soprattutto nella parte orientale di questo mare, perché la malattia proveniva soprattutto dall'Oriente, dove la prevenzione era adottata con minore attenzione. In Occidente, e in particolare nel regno di Napoli, grazie anche alla memoria del passato, e soprattutto alla memoria della grave epidemia del 1656, i governanti erano diventati più intransigenti rispetto agli anni di inizio secolo, avendo oramai bene appreso l'importanza della prevenzione, di isolamenti e quarantene, per tutelare le coste dagli attacchi della peste. L'area meridionale maggiormente a rischio restava la Puglia, che guardava all'Adriatico e all'Oriente. Gli attivi traffici tra le due sponde adriatiche, assieme ad altri fattori, resero la Puglia un'area particolarmente vulnerabile. Così, le autorità napoletane furono costrette a imporre un controllo severo e continuo delle coste pugliesi perché solo grazie a tale rigoroso controllo era possibile difendere non solo l'area adriatica ma l'intero regno.
Uno stato di continua emergenza epidemica. La Puglia di fine Seicento tra violazioni e controllo
Idamaria Fusco
2021
Abstract
Since the Ancient Age and throughout the Modern Age the plague had always sailed on the Mediterranean, causing severe and widespread epidemics. However, at the end of the 17th century epidemics were decreasing in number and intensity. The plague was still present in the Mediterranean area, but it was mainly concentrated in the Eastern part of the sea, because the disease came mainly from the East, where prevention was adopted with less attention. In the West, and in particular in the Kingdom of Naples, thanks also to the memory of the past, and above all to the memory of the serious 1656 epidemic, rulers had become more intransigent than the years before. In fact, by then they had well learned the importance of prevention, of isolation and quarantine, to protect the coasts from the attacks of the plague. Apulia, which faced the Adriatic and the East, was more in danger than other Southern areas. Active trades between the two Adriatic shores, together with other factors, made Apulia a particularly vulnerable region. Thus, Neapolitan authorities were forced to impose a strict and continuous control over the Apulian coasts because only thanks to such a rigorous control it was possible to defend not only the Adriatic area but also the whole kingdom.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.