After the great pandemic of 1348, the plague became endemic in Europe, affecting life at every level for more than three hundred years. In attempting to fight the dread enemy, the North Italian states had developed, by the early sixteenth century, a highly sophisticated system of public health. Special permanent magistracies combining legislative and executive powers were established to administer all public health matters. In this volume, Carlo M. Cipolla throws new light on the subject, utilizing newly uncovered and significant archival material. In the first essay, the author analyzes the...