The English community of Bagni di Lucca obtained permission from Carlo Ludovico di Borbone, Duke of Lucca, to build and set up an independent cemetery in 1842. This cemetery operated until the 30’s of the past century, with a total amount of 137 burials. The “Register of Burials – Baths of Lucca”, preserved in the Guildhall Library of London (Ms. 22,910), accurately reports: name, sex, age, marital status and residence, date of burial, name by whom the ceremony was performed and notes about social status and profession of the dead1. It was possible, using these data, to obtain some palaeo-demographic information about age of death, in general adult or mature, with a minor presence of children and babies, about seasonality of deaths, generally in summer, and sometimes about the cause of death. The number of burials in the English cemetery of Bagni di Lucca is particularly elevated for the second half of the 19th century. The highest peak was reached in the decade between 1847 and 1856, with a total of 32 burials, followed by a constant number of 8-10 burials every five years until 1891. In the years which followed there was a rapid decline in the use of the cemetery, which continued until the 30’s of the 20th century, with a maximum of 7 burials in the five-year period between 1902 and 1906, but with a number of inhumations generally between 1 and 5 every 5 years. It is evident that the cemetery was mostly used in the period in which Bagni di Lucca was visited by foreign tourists, in particular by the English. Indeed the decline in the number of depositions in the first half of the 20th century coincides with the progressive decadence of Bagni di Lucca as a tourist and thermal centre, until it was completely abandoned in the 50’s of the last century. As far as seasonal and monthly mortality are concerned, the majority of deaths took place in the summer, in the period between June and September. If we compare the contemporary death rate in the rural village of Val di Lima in the municipality of Bagni di Lucca (considered as an expression of “natural” death), we observe a higher number of deaths, with peaks in the autumn and winter months. On the other hand in the summer the number of deaths in the rural community was not particularly elevated. We may therefore evince that the higher incidence of summer deaths in the English community simply reflected the fact that Bagni di Lucca was most popular with tourists in the summer. If we examine the number of deaths on the basis of the age groups we observe the highest death rate in the period between 25 and 34 years. Successively, there is a higher death rate in males between 60 and 64 years, while women appear more long-lived than men, reaching an age range superior to 75 years. From a comparison with the rural community of Pieve dei Monti di Villa it emerges that the children’s death rate, between date of birth and 4 years, reached 40%, a death rate to be considered “physiological” in the pre-contemporary age, while the deaths of English children only reached 10%. It is evident that this death rate has been underestimated, owing to the fact that only a small part of births in the English community, and later of nursing, took place at Bagni di Lucca. Therefore, a direct and total comparison between the two mortality curves was impossible, but we only compared the mortality curves of adults of 20 years of age, considering the sexes both separately and together. Even in this case we observe an enormous mortality rate of English males between 25 and 34 years of age, while on the other hand there is a late mortality in the peasants aged between 75 and 84 years in the Pieve. In conclusion, alongside a peak of mortality in adult-young age, English males died before the male inhabitants of the village, as demonstrated also by the life-span curve. As regards female mortality, we observe the same peak already observed in males between 25 and 34 years of age, but there is an even higher and earlier death rate of peasant women as compared to English ladies starting from the age of 65 years. English women reach an age range which is higher and with a considerable percentage (7%) well beyond 90 years of age. Even the life span curve reflects a situation which is better for the English “ladies” than for the peasants. The results of the palaeodemographic study certainly reflect the hard tiring life of the peasant women of the Val di Lima of Lucca, with respect to the “buffer system” represented by the quiet and protected life of the English women. On the contrary the death rate of male peasants reflects a life which is healthier than that of the English males, also favoured by the advantages offered by the patriarchal society typical of the 19th century Tuscan rural environment. If we examine the samples including both sexes, the adult-young death peak of the English is confirmed, while there is a higher and earlier mortality of the peasants. This fact is also supported by the curve of a more likely death rate after the age of 60. The life span, with the exception of the decade between 20 and 34 years, is always higher in the English. The explanation of an early death rate of the English community is to be sought in the fact that a large part of adult-young individuals came from Italy, even from Bagni di Lucca, for reasons of health since they were affected by illnesses that could benefit from the Mediterranhean climate and thermal practices. These diseases included tuberculosis, often in the severe form of pulmonary phthisis, which affected the young adults of the crowded English cities and which – at least in part – can explain the peak of juvenile deaths in the English community of Bagni di Lucca. 1. Giambastiani L. Origini, funzioni e prospettive del Cimitero Inglese ai Bagni di Lucca. In Atti del Convegno “Gli stranieri ai Bagni di Lucca nella testimonianza del Cimitero Inglese”, 1991, Edizioni Regione Toscana, pp. 19-74.

Paleodemography considerations and causes of death in the English community of Bagni di Lucca (19th-20th centuries)

Gino Fornaciari
2012-01-01

Abstract

The English community of Bagni di Lucca obtained permission from Carlo Ludovico di Borbone, Duke of Lucca, to build and set up an independent cemetery in 1842. This cemetery operated until the 30’s of the past century, with a total amount of 137 burials. The “Register of Burials – Baths of Lucca”, preserved in the Guildhall Library of London (Ms. 22,910), accurately reports: name, sex, age, marital status and residence, date of burial, name by whom the ceremony was performed and notes about social status and profession of the dead1. It was possible, using these data, to obtain some palaeo-demographic information about age of death, in general adult or mature, with a minor presence of children and babies, about seasonality of deaths, generally in summer, and sometimes about the cause of death. The number of burials in the English cemetery of Bagni di Lucca is particularly elevated for the second half of the 19th century. The highest peak was reached in the decade between 1847 and 1856, with a total of 32 burials, followed by a constant number of 8-10 burials every five years until 1891. In the years which followed there was a rapid decline in the use of the cemetery, which continued until the 30’s of the 20th century, with a maximum of 7 burials in the five-year period between 1902 and 1906, but with a number of inhumations generally between 1 and 5 every 5 years. It is evident that the cemetery was mostly used in the period in which Bagni di Lucca was visited by foreign tourists, in particular by the English. Indeed the decline in the number of depositions in the first half of the 20th century coincides with the progressive decadence of Bagni di Lucca as a tourist and thermal centre, until it was completely abandoned in the 50’s of the last century. As far as seasonal and monthly mortality are concerned, the majority of deaths took place in the summer, in the period between June and September. If we compare the contemporary death rate in the rural village of Val di Lima in the municipality of Bagni di Lucca (considered as an expression of “natural” death), we observe a higher number of deaths, with peaks in the autumn and winter months. On the other hand in the summer the number of deaths in the rural community was not particularly elevated. We may therefore evince that the higher incidence of summer deaths in the English community simply reflected the fact that Bagni di Lucca was most popular with tourists in the summer. If we examine the number of deaths on the basis of the age groups we observe the highest death rate in the period between 25 and 34 years. Successively, there is a higher death rate in males between 60 and 64 years, while women appear more long-lived than men, reaching an age range superior to 75 years. From a comparison with the rural community of Pieve dei Monti di Villa it emerges that the children’s death rate, between date of birth and 4 years, reached 40%, a death rate to be considered “physiological” in the pre-contemporary age, while the deaths of English children only reached 10%. It is evident that this death rate has been underestimated, owing to the fact that only a small part of births in the English community, and later of nursing, took place at Bagni di Lucca. Therefore, a direct and total comparison between the two mortality curves was impossible, but we only compared the mortality curves of adults of 20 years of age, considering the sexes both separately and together. Even in this case we observe an enormous mortality rate of English males between 25 and 34 years of age, while on the other hand there is a late mortality in the peasants aged between 75 and 84 years in the Pieve. In conclusion, alongside a peak of mortality in adult-young age, English males died before the male inhabitants of the village, as demonstrated also by the life-span curve. As regards female mortality, we observe the same peak already observed in males between 25 and 34 years of age, but there is an even higher and earlier death rate of peasant women as compared to English ladies starting from the age of 65 years. English women reach an age range which is higher and with a considerable percentage (7%) well beyond 90 years of age. Even the life span curve reflects a situation which is better for the English “ladies” than for the peasants. The results of the palaeodemographic study certainly reflect the hard tiring life of the peasant women of the Val di Lima of Lucca, with respect to the “buffer system” represented by the quiet and protected life of the English women. On the contrary the death rate of male peasants reflects a life which is healthier than that of the English males, also favoured by the advantages offered by the patriarchal society typical of the 19th century Tuscan rural environment. If we examine the samples including both sexes, the adult-young death peak of the English is confirmed, while there is a higher and earlier mortality of the peasants. This fact is also supported by the curve of a more likely death rate after the age of 60. The life span, with the exception of the decade between 20 and 34 years, is always higher in the English. The explanation of an early death rate of the English community is to be sought in the fact that a large part of adult-young individuals came from Italy, even from Bagni di Lucca, for reasons of health since they were affected by illnesses that could benefit from the Mediterranhean climate and thermal practices. These diseases included tuberculosis, often in the severe form of pulmonary phthisis, which affected the young adults of the crowded English cities and which – at least in part – can explain the peak of juvenile deaths in the English community of Bagni di Lucca. 1. Giambastiani L. Origini, funzioni e prospettive del Cimitero Inglese ai Bagni di Lucca. In Atti del Convegno “Gli stranieri ai Bagni di Lucca nella testimonianza del Cimitero Inglese”, 1991, Edizioni Regione Toscana, pp. 19-74.
File in questo prodotto:
Non ci sono file associati a questo prodotto.

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11568/907277
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus ND
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? ND
social impact