Giovanni de Ventura
Encyclopedia
Giovanni de Ventura was a municipal plague doctor
for the town of Pavia
. He was a certified physician from a University and had a degree.
in 1479 with the town of Pavia to treat plague patients he was fresh out of school and desired to start a medical career. He became a plague doctor for the city of Pavia, which involved a sixteen clause contract with the city. The salary he received was 30 florins per month (plus full citizenship and a free house), which was five to six times the salary of a skilled person of the time. The average skilled person earned about 60 florins per year, where Ventura received 360 florins per year.
Ventura was also to receive an adequate completely furnished house in an adequate location with supplemental living costs. He also received a cash advance and a severance package
when he left at the end of his contract which consisted of two month's pay. He was not to require a fee from a plague patient, since the town was paying him, unless they offered freely. If the town had too many plague victims that his salary was not obtainable, then he was free to leave with no further obligations. Likewise if he received pay and died before his normal services were performed, his heirs (perhaps parents) were not obligated to return any of that advanced pay.
The most important of the "benefits" of his contract with the city was a full town citizenship, as he had immigrated to the area from the countryside. He was not initially a town citizen. This gave him the possibility of setting up a more lucrative practice in the city after his contract ended. This benefit was the most attractive to him. In return for the contract benefits he was to treat and take care of all plague and infectious patients of the town. He was to see the plague patients two or three times per day or more if necessary. Ventura was not to go around the city unless escorted by a designated city member - so as not to spread the contagious disease
. Ventura could see only bubonic plague
patients and was prohibited from seeing other patients with other illnesses. This was covered in Clause 16 of his 1479 contract with the city of Pavia:
or give ambiguous answers. In addition Ventura was to be courteous at the city major's table and kind to the guests. He was to be a man of few words. Ventura was to treat his patients with dignity and high moral standards, especially his female patients. He was not to have chit-chat conversations with the mistress of the house, the daughter, or the female servants.
consisted of a heavy fabric overcoat that was oiled or waxed, a mask of glassed eye openings and a cone shaped like a beak
to hold scented substances. A wooden cane pointer was used to help examine the patient without touching.
Plague doctor
A plague doctor , was a special medical physician who saw those who had the bubonic plague. They were specifically hired by towns that had many plague victims in times of plague epidemics. Since the city was paying their salary they treated everyone, the rich and the poor...
for the town of Pavia
Pavia
Pavia , the ancient Ticinum, is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It is the capital of the province of Pavia. It has a population of c. 71,000...
. He was a certified physician from a University and had a degree.
Contract 1479
When Ventura negotiated a "spectacular" plague doctor contractPlague doctor contract
A plague doctor contract was an agreement between a town's administrators and a "doctor" to treat bubonic plague patients. These contracts are easy to find in European city archives. A plague doctor was specifically hired by a European city or town to treat plague patients, rich or poor, in times...
in 1479 with the town of Pavia to treat plague patients he was fresh out of school and desired to start a medical career. He became a plague doctor for the city of Pavia, which involved a sixteen clause contract with the city. The salary he received was 30 florins per month (plus full citizenship and a free house), which was five to six times the salary of a skilled person of the time. The average skilled person earned about 60 florins per year, where Ventura received 360 florins per year.
Ventura was also to receive an adequate completely furnished house in an adequate location with supplemental living costs. He also received a cash advance and a severance package
Severance package
A severance package is pay and benefits an employee receives when they leave employment at a company. In addition to the employee's remaining regular pay, it may include some of the following:* An additional payment based on months of service...
when he left at the end of his contract which consisted of two month's pay. He was not to require a fee from a plague patient, since the town was paying him, unless they offered freely. If the town had too many plague victims that his salary was not obtainable, then he was free to leave with no further obligations. Likewise if he received pay and died before his normal services were performed, his heirs (perhaps parents) were not obligated to return any of that advanced pay.
The most important of the "benefits" of his contract with the city was a full town citizenship, as he had immigrated to the area from the countryside. He was not initially a town citizen. This gave him the possibility of setting up a more lucrative practice in the city after his contract ended. This benefit was the most attractive to him. In return for the contract benefits he was to treat and take care of all plague and infectious patients of the town. He was to see the plague patients two or three times per day or more if necessary. Ventura was not to go around the city unless escorted by a designated city member - so as not to spread the contagious disease
Contagious disease
A contagious disease is a subset category of infectious diseases , which are easily transmitted by physical contact with the person suffering the disease, or by their secretions or objects touched by them....
. Ventura could see only bubonic plague
Bubonic plague
Plague is a deadly infectious disease that is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis, named after the French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin. Primarily carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas, the disease is notorious throughout history, due to the unrivaled scale of death...
patients and was prohibited from seeing other patients with other illnesses. This was covered in Clause 16 of his 1479 contract with the city of Pavia:
Professionalism
As a professional doctor of that time Ventura was to uphold certain standards. These included ethical codes and professional dress. He was to be well mannered, bold, cautionary of dangers, and not practice false cures. Additionally Ventura was expected to be friendly, cordial, polite, compassionate, chaste, sober and merciful. He was to work with his colleagues and be kindhearted to them. He was also to be wise and professional in his prognostications. Likewise he was not to be greedy for money. His dress was to be like that of a professional clerk of the time. He was not to swear or use bad language and was not allowed to double talkDoublespeak
Doublespeak is language that deliberately disguises, distorts, or reverses the meaning of words. Doublespeak may take the form of euphemisms , making the truth less unpleasant, without denying its nature. It may also be deployed as intentional ambiguity, or reversal of meaning...
or give ambiguous answers. In addition Ventura was to be courteous at the city major's table and kind to the guests. He was to be a man of few words. Ventura was to treat his patients with dignity and high moral standards, especially his female patients. He was not to have chit-chat conversations with the mistress of the house, the daughter, or the female servants.
Beak Doctor
Because of the protective suit he would have worn in his role as a plague doctor, he would have been known also as a "Beak Doctor". The beak doctor costumeBeak doctor costume
]The plague doctor's costume was the clothing worn by a plague doctor to protect him from airborne diseases. The costume consisted of an ankle length overcoat and a bird-like beak mask often filled with sweet or strong smelling substances , along with gloves, boots, a brim hat and an outer...
consisted of a heavy fabric overcoat that was oiled or waxed, a mask of glassed eye openings and a cone shaped like a beak
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
to hold scented substances. A wooden cane pointer was used to help examine the patient without touching.
Family
Historian Carlo M. Cipollia speculates that Ventura did not have a family himself. While there are no records to show one way or the other, he thinks that in all likelihood Ventura did not have a wife or any children. This speculation is based on Clause 4 of the 1479 Contract that does not seem to indicate a house for a family. However there is indications that perhaps he had living parents by Clause 8. This clause stipulates that should there be advance pay and Ventura were to die before the services were fulfilled for this pay, then his heirs shall not be required to make restitution of any part of his salary that might remain unearned.Secondary Sources
- Byrne, Joseph Patrick, Daily life during the Black Death, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006, ISBN 0313332975
- Byrne, Joseph Patrick, Encyclopedia of Pestilence, Pandemics, and Plagues, ABC-CLIO, 2008, ISBN 0313341028
- Ellis, Oliver C., A History of Fire and Flame 1932 , Kessinger Publishing, 2004, ISBN 1417975830
- Gottfried, Robert S., The black death: natural and human disaster in medieval Europe, Simon and Schuster, 1985, ISBN 0029123704
- King, Margaret L., Western civilization: a social and cultural history, Prentice Hall, 2002, ISBN 0130450073
- Miskimin, Harry A., The Medieval City, Yale University Press, 1977, ISBN 0300020813
- Pommerville, Jeffrey, Alcamo's Fundamentals of Microbiology, Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2010, ISBN 076376258X