A tribute to Bernardino Ramazzini (1633-1714) on the tercentenary of his death

Historians claimed that the Diatriba ‘is to the history of occupational diseases what Vesalius’s book is to anatomy, Harvey’s to physiology, Morgagni’s to pathology’. His book represented a medical and social triumph and appointed Ramazzini as the father of occupational medicine. On the occasion of the tercentenary of Ramazzini’s death, this article is a tribute to him and his vision of occupational health in the second half of the seventeenth century. Ramazzini’s scientific and humanitarian thinking developed in the cultural, economic and social context of the Duchy of Modena, in northern Italy, in the seventeenth century. In Italy, as throughout Europe, this period was characterized by a deep recession affecting every aspect of life. Culture was in the service of the court, and the economy, mainly based on agriculture, was in crisis. At that time, when the attention of doctors was devoted to the most wealthy patients, it was unexpected and unusual that a doctor devoted his attention to investigate workers’ health issues. The Diatriba was written in the years when the ‘Age of Reason’ began to focus on public health issues by translating the ideas of that cultural movement into practice. It was a literary success as shown by numerous translations and countless quotes throughout the eighteenth century and remained a fundamental text until new health problems were thrown up by the industrial revolution. The social and economic impact of the industrial revolution had a tremendous influence on workers’ health. The seed scattered by Ramazzini could then flourish and new pioneers of occupational medicine emerge.