1348-02-00-Lucca
Map
Factbox for ID"Page ID" records the ID of a page. It is is provided by the <a class="external text" href="https://www.semantic-mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Semantic_Extra_Special_Properties">Semantic Extra Special Properties</a> extension. 635
| Date startStart date of the disease. | February 1348 "Febr" is not a number. | + |
| Date endEnd date of the disease. | February 1349 "Febr" is not a number. | + |
| SeasonSeason (spring, summer, fall or winter) | ||
| Date otherOther mentioned dates. | ||
| PlacePlace(s), city or location of the disease. | Lucca, Pisa | |
| RegionHistorical region(s) | Tuscany | |
| CountryCurrent country | ||
| RiverMentioned river(s) | ||
| Natural eventMentioned natural event(s) | ||
| PersonMentioned persons(s) | ||
| GroupGroup(s) of people mentioned | ||
| VictimIndication of victims | + | |
| AnimalMentioned animal(s) | ||
| DiseaseMentioned disease(s) | ||
| Epidemic waveAssociated epidemic wave | Black Death | |
| Social responseSocial response that happened in reaction to the disease | Punishment | |
| LanguageLanguage of the original text | Italian | |
| KeywordFurther keyword(s) | Epidemics, Mortality | |
| FactGridIDIdentifier of an item in FactGrid database | Q1871753 | |
| last edited | 11. 03. 2026 by Martin Bauch. |
The Black Death comes to Lucca via Pisa
Text originalOriginal text
Avendo Iddio, per i nostri peccati, mandato il segno della carestia, come è stato raccontato, e nonostante questo non essendosi gli uomini pentiti né avendo perdonato le offese, ma organizzatisi addirittura per mali ancora maggiori, la somma potenza di Dio decise di mandare una epidemia per punire quelli senza timore di Lui e pertinaci nel fare del male, nonostante che per essa dovessero perire molti innocenti. Essendo giunte a Pisa dala Romania due galee di Genovesi, con a bordo uomini ammalati di peste, giunti che furono nella Piazza dei Pesci, tutti quelle che parlarono con quei marinai, in breve si ammalarono e [p. 111] morirono; e ciò avvenne del gennaio del 1348. E così l'epidemia iniziò grandemente in Pisa e poi si sparse per tutta la Toscana e sopratutto in Lucca. E in quel tempo, il 18 di febbraio dell'anno suddetto, nacqui io, Giovanni Sercambi, nella contrada di San Cristoforo, nelle case di messer Santo Falabrina; nella quale epidemia morirono più di 80 persone su cento. E l'aria era così impestata, che in qualunque luogo uno andasse la morte lo raggiungeva; e vedendo che tutti morivano, poco si aveva paura della morte. E da molti si credette che fosse la fine del mondo. E quell' epidemia durò in Toscana per più di un anno. E tutti quelli che sopravissero divennero ricchi, perchè il tesoro di molti rimase in proprietà di uno solo. E nonostante tutti questi segni i Pisani non abbondarono Lucca, ma per lungo tempo, con maggiore asprezza, la signoreggiarono.
Text translationEnglish translation of the text
God, because of our sins, had already sent the sign of famine, as has been recounted. Yet despite this, people did not repent nor forgive the offenses they had committed against one another; instead they even prepared themselves for still greater evils. Therefore the supreme power of God decided to send an epidemic to punish those who lived without fear of Him and persisted stubbornly in doing evil, even though many innocent people would perish from it. When two Genoese galleys arrived at Pisa from Romania, carrying on board men who were sick with the plague, and when they reached the Fish Market square, all those who spoke with those sailors soon fell ill and died; and this happened in January of the year 1348. Thus the epidemic began violently in Pisa and then spread throughout all Tuscany, especially in Lucca.And at that time, on the 18th of February of the said year, I, Giovanni Sercambi, was born in the district of San Cristoforo, in the houses of Messer Santo Falabrina. During this epidemic more than eighty people out of a hundred died. The air was so infected that wherever one went, death would reach him. And seeing that everyone was dying, people had little fear of death. Many believed that it was the end of the world. This epidemic lasted in Tuscany for more than a year. All those who survived became rich, because the wealth of many came to belong to only one person. And despite all these signs, the people of Pisa did not abandon their domination over Lucca, but for a long time they ruled it with even greater harshness.
