Title: Calamities and the economy in Renaissance Italy : the grand tour of the horsemen of the apocalypse /
Authors: Alfani, Guido, 1976-
Year: 2013
Subjects: History, 16th Century; Starvation history; Socioeconomic Factors history; Population Dynamics history; Plague history; Disasters economics; Warfare; Plague history Italy.; Population Dynamics history Italy.; Socioeconomic Factors history Italy.; Starvation history Italy.; Warfare; Italy; Italy History; Italy Social conditions; Italy Economic conditions; Italy
Abstract: "Italy faced a number of catastrophes in the long sixteenth century. This economic and demographic history follows the consequences of these catastrophes - the action of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse - War, Famine and Plague, all followed by Death. Guido Alfani considers the short-term effects of the calamities affecting Renaissance Italy as well as the impact they had, in the medium- and long-term, on the general economic and demographic trend of the peninsula. The calamities are shown to be not only the source of destruction, but also the cause of a significant redistribution of population and wealth; in other words, they produced winners as well as losers. This overall picture of the economic conditions of Italy in the late Renaissance challenges the received wisdom that suggests, at the beginning of the seventeenth century, the Italian economy was still healthy, innovating and dynamic."--Publisher's website.
Contents: List of figures and tables -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- War -- Famine -- Plague -- Winners and losers -- Population and the economy : underlying trends -- Conclusion: towards the seventeenth century -- Appendix -- Bibliography -- Index.