Trees and Disease: The Ecology of the Roman Campagna in the Seventeenth Century

Abstract

This article explores affective approaches to trees and woodland in one specific landscape, the Roman Campagna (the region around Rome), during a period of rapid environmental change known as the 'Little Ice Age'. Wetter conditions and colder winters encouraged the spread of malaria, leading to rapid depopulation. Attitudes to trees were complicated by widespread bandit activity, which in turn was encouraged by the lack of a stable population. Forests were widely feared, but also regarded as effective barriers against disease, which was believed to be carried by malign winds. Competing approaches to the conceptualisation of trees ensured that they remained volatile emotional triggers for health and safety concerns in early modern Rome.