Naples in the Time of Cholera, 1884-1911

by Frank M. Snowden III

This is a medical and social history of Italy's largest city during the cholera epidemics of 1884 and 1910-11. It explores the factors that exposed Naples to risk; it examines such popular responses as social hysteria, riots, and religiosity; and it traces therapeutic strategies. This book is the first extended study of cholera in modern Italy; it sets Naples in a comparative international framework and relates the disease to larger historical issues, such as the nature of liberal statecraft, the "southern question," mass emigration, organized crime, and the medical profession.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Italy

494 pages, Paperback

First published November 28, 1995

About the author

Frank M. Snowden is Andrew Downey Orrick Professor Emeritus of History and History of Medicine at Yale University. His previous books include The Conquest of Malaria: Italy, 1900–1962 and Naples in the Time of Cholera, 1884–1911.

Reviews

[cam_omile]

i now know much more about cholera and 20th-century italian politics than i ever wanted to.

[Robin Redden · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating, well researched, detailed look at medical, political and cultural history during two cholera epidemics that hit the City of Naples, Italy in 1884 and again in 1910-1911. The history begins with the precursors and sanitary issues that left Naples at risk for the 1884 epidemic (during the 5th pandemic of cholera) followed by the causes, responses (both from society and by government to contain the epidemic) and results of the 1884 event.

After the devastating 1884 epidemic the Italian government decided on a policy of "Risanamento" or a program of major public works improvement projects in Naples to update tenement housing, sewage systems, water systems, farming etc. The very expensive programs were based on the faulty theories of the anti-contagionist Max von Pettenkofer - the theory that sewage seeping underground contaminated the air people breathed (aka the Miasma theory). That wouldn't have mattered to a great extent if the renewal system had been carried out appropriately as it would have improved public health nonetheless, but unfortunately the corruption of politicians and the camorra influence (organized crime) caused most of the money to be squandered and the plan was never fully executed.

When cholera reappeared in 1910-1911 the Italian government implemented a complete policy of concealment, both domestically and internationally, to deal with this new epidemic (the 6th pandemic). The possibility of having to admit to the very expensive but failed "Risanamento", the economic fallout including halting the lucrative international emigration of Naples laborers/farm workers to the US and Argentina, in addition to Italian pride and the tourist trade during the 50th anniversary of Italian unification during this public health event drove the implementation of a governmental policy to conceal. Tragically, it also prevented newer rehydration therapies from being used on and saving 90-95% of patients (the causative vibrio had been identified by Robert Koch by this time and the germ theory firmly established but international doctors were not approved to come to the country to help with the non-existent cholera) causing the continuation of fatalities and suffering for the many Italians afflicted.

Professor Snowden's book is a true medical detective story in which he researches international documents (Ellis Island records for example), Italian telegrams, speeches, Italian parliamentary archives, etc. in order to ferret out the hidden epidemic and the US and French collusion in it.
I have to warn that it is dense (but brilliant) and takes a longer time to read than you might expect, but if you have an interest in Italian history or medical history I highly recommend it.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am interested in Naples since my grandfather came from there and I am always on the lookout for books about Naples. This is by far the best book I have read on this city. There are many books on prewar Italy, both WWI and WWII, but they are largely in Italian. For those who are limited to English, I cannot see how such a reader would be disappointed by this book. I find Thomas Snowden to be an excellent writer who is never boring. Perhaps I enjoyed this book because of my interest in the subject. However, I would not hesitate to recommend this book to anyone with an interest in Italy. I find that another reviewer claims Snowden is constantly referring to death tolls by sections of Naples in an annoying repetitive manner. I disagree as the tables showing the deaths are simply used to show the magnitude of the suffering in the poorer districts. I didn't find Snowden to be repeating figures over and over again. The fact that the epidemic was repeated in the same way in 1910-1911 as in 1884 makes for similar figures but I wouldn't deem this repetitive. What I found most interesting was Snowden's analysis of the local politics of Naples and the national politics of Rome. I was shocked at the misery of Naples and the indifference towards it of the upper class Catholics. When you read Snowden's descriptions of the attitudes of the Naples elite towards the poor, it is easy to see how the rebuilding of Naples became a huge failure. Snowden shows how the problems with Naples are not all due to the North. The municipal government of Naples was solely responsible for the failure in the rebuilding of Naples.

[Minsoo · Rating 4 out of 5]

didn't know about this

[James Stanley · Rating 1 out of 5]

The driest of dry history books. Frank Snowden is a very nice man, and certainly a very knowledgeable one when it comes to this particular subject, but this book ranks among the most unbearable I've ever read. Want a statistical breakdown of the population which succumbed to cholera in each neighborhood for every year covered in the book? Neither did I, but not only will Professor Snowden provide it in a tidy chart, he'll insist on repeating the results endlessly in the text. I guess I should have know what to expect with the title, but why I didn't chuck it after the first couple chapters remains a mystery.