The Black Death Remakes Italy: Plague, Power, and Renaissance

The Story of Italy: Rome, Renaissance, and the Birth of Modern Europe — Fexingo History · Apr 30, 2026 · 7m · transcript

In 1347, a Genoese fleet brought more than trade to Sicily: it carried Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that would kill perhaps half of Italy's population within three years. This episode follows the Black Death's arrival in Messina, its devastating march through Pisa, Florence, and Venice, and the way the plague shattered feudal structures while creating new opportunities. We explore Giovanni Boccaccio's eyewitness account from the Decameron's frame story, the rise of the 'plague saints' like Saint Roch, the flagellant movement's controversial processions…