Italian Culture Ministry Publishes Book on Historical Epidemics

The Italian Ministry of Culture has released a volume titled 'Epidemie e antichi rimedi tra le carte d'archivio' (Epidemics and Ancient Remedies Among Archive Papers), a collective research effort by Italian archival institutes. The book compiles historical documents—travel bans, public health reports, ship health patents (a precursor to the green pass), notarial records for the dying, engravings of protective saints like Sant'Eustachio, cure recipes, vaccination posters, and proclamations ending epidemics. It covers plagues, cholera, smallpox, the 1918 Spanish flu, and bubonic plague after WWII. Minister Dario Franceschini notes in the introduction that quarantine, social distancing, and forced closures have been recurring responses throughout history. The cover features a 17th-century print of a plague doctor with a beak-shaped mask. The publication aims to show how archival memory can inform present and future pandemic responses.