Researching at the Time of Covid-19

To reach Ferrara from Venice, Nicola Vicentino had to cross the border that separated the Republic of Venice from the territories of the Este dukedom. The border guards would stop him and ask him to show the documents and the good health bulletin (‘bollettino di sanità’). The protection of his patron, the Cardinal Ippolito D’Este, would have assured him a favourable treatment, but not the hassle of obtaining the necessary health document, especially in times of plagues. Reports of the time tell that, on the border with the papal state, the guards even sprayed vapours on travellers and pilgrims on the way to Rome. The most fearsome enemy at the time was the pest, the ‘black death’. It could travel hidden under the uniform of a soldier or in the hold of a ship and a postal carriage. It spared no one, when it manifested itself. For this reason, the fear…