Professions and intestinal infections in 15th-century Florence.

The aims behind this study are to verify a possible relationship between intestinal infectious diseases and certain professional activities carried out in 15th-century Florence by some categories of lesser labourers. Sources of the present study were the Libri dei Morti by the Florentine Ufficio della Grascia concerning the years 1424-25 and 1430 characterized by a plague epidemic. In this period, thanks to the particular social and economic circumstances of the times, the Libri dei Morti were enriched with additional notes about the illness that caused the deaths. The tables show an analysis of the data concerning the types of illness, the residence of the deceased and his/her social state. The present study suggests that certain professions were more exposed to infectious pathologies.