Martin Bauch

Der Regen, das Korn und das Salz: die Madonna di San Luca und das Wettermirakel von 1433

Riassunto Il miracoloso cambiamento del tempo, avvenuto dopo settimane di incessante pioggia nel luglio del 1433 a Bologna durante una processione della Madonna di San Luca, viene collocato ora per la prima volta in un contesto che va oltre la storia della pietà: nel presente articolo si studiano le fonti fi scali e amministrativi di Bologna per tracciare la situazione socio-economica e politica della città e del contado nella prima metà degli anni Trenta del XV secolo e per valutare l’eventuale parte avuta dalle avversità metereologiche nell’inasprire la crisi. In particolare si esaminano le carte dell’Uffi cio del Sale e della Tesoreria e la loro utilità per le ricerche storico-climatici. La ricostruzione - sulla base di fonti narrative - di eventi metereologici estremi, di epidemie e carestie, verifi catisi negli anni Trenta del XV secolo in tutta Italia, e un accenno alla situazione europea mostrano che il rischio di avversità climatiche è meno forte nell’area mediterranea che nei territori a nord delle Alpi. Infi ne si indaga il nesso causale tra precipitazioni e periodi di carestia e si tematizza la mancata considerazione di fattori naturali da parte della ricerca italiana sulla fame. Abstract A period of incessant rain stopped in July 1433, as the people of Bologna carried an icon of Mary through their city. Until now, this event has been of interest only to local and religious history. This article attempts to outline the impact of extreme meteorological events on the Bolognese economy and society of the 1430s. It therefore takes into account fi scal and administrative records hitherto untapped for climate history, with a special focus on the records of the salt administration and the communal treasury. For the fi rst time it provides a reconstruction of extreme weather events, epidemics and food shortages in Italy for the 1430s. In a European perspective, we see that in these years the Mediterranean was less aff ected by climatic stress than Europe north of the Alps. Finally the article stresses the causal relationship between precipitation and periods of food shortage, and notes that this has been neglected by Italian famine research.

The Day the Sun Turned Blue: A Volcanic Eruption in the Early 1460s and Its Possible Climatic Impact—A Natural Disaster Perceived Globally in the Late Middle Ages?

Strange atmospheric phenomena visible all over Europe in September 1465 are interpreted as the result of a volcanic dust veil, possibly originating from a re-dated eruption of Kuwae in Vanuatu, in the southwestern Pacific. There is ample evidence (concerning temperature and precipitation) of years without summers from 1465 to 1469 and their subsequent agricultural, economic, and social impact. A second look raises doubts about assigning any clear pattern and reveals a fuzzier picture: an unusually coloured sun was more frequent in the Middle Ages and Early Modern time than originally thought. It is only non-European evidence that proves the events of 1464–1465 were truly global and most likely the result of a tropical volcanic eruption, though its consequences seem to be less cataclysmic than we would normally expect of a Tambora-like event.