Only edition. The devastating Italian plague of 1629-31 affected every aspect life in Central and Northern Italy, especially in Milan, with the most severe metrics being loss of life (nearly half the population) and the attenuation of the economy. Any country diluted of resources will be at risk of aggression from neighbors, and it stands to reason that national defenses demand immediate attention after the worst is over. By 1637, the army of Milan (under the rule of the Spanish Habsburgs) was being regenerated with patriot enlistees, conscripts, and foreign mercenaries; the monies dedicated to this renewal were a matter of public record. Ambrogio Oppizzione, a Pavian patricio, was ordered by the Habsburg lords and governors who oversaw the wartime economy to compile a detailed report on the costs associated with the Army of Milan. Prefixed with a detailed table of contents, Oppizzione's report outlines quartering of troops, daily rations of food and supplies, specific cash payments for soldiers and mercenaries of every rank, from officers to engineers to surgeons, and even marching drummers and other musicians. Charity disbursements to women and ragazzi (homeless orphans) are also listed. A longer section details the municipal taxes to be paid by ten Milan-adjacent catchments to fund the army. The costs of personal items meted out to domestic and foreign mercenaries are listed, notably utensils, wines and cordials, spits for roasting, candles, and horse tack. A good copy in original condition of a remarkably detailed snapshot of wartime economy in Lombardy following the most devastating pandemic in 17th-century Europe.. No copies located in US libraries; a handful in Italian public institutional collections. 

Folio: 304 x 205 x 7 mm. †⁶, A-C⁶; [12], 36 pp. Contemporary cartonnage, with the name IO. GERARDO BOCCA inked in block letters to upper cover. Wraps worn and soiled, with splits to spine. Interior: Leaves foxed and toned, with some soiling and dog-ears. Period manuscript annotations passim, mostly concerning rations and pay.

Not in Goldsmiths'-Kress.

Item #389