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Capra's work is one of the key studies on flood control and river bank engineering, specifically of the Po River that forms the boundary between the regions of Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, and the Veneto. It provides practical advice on how to protect the walls of the city of Cremona from the assaults of the Po. Engineering the river to prevent flooding and aid irrigation was a priority for many northern Italian towns in the seventeenth century, especially following devastating famines and the plague outbreak of 1629-1630.
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The physician Borsieri (1725-1785) achieved notoriety at a young age after successfully containing a plague outbreak in Faenza using mercury compounds. He continued his analysis of mineralogical components of the surrounding area, first publishing his treatise on the waters of San Cristoforo in 1761. Borsieri was one of the first to analyze mineral waters for their medicinal and therapeutic value, paving the way for the modern study of medical hydrology. Unlike many doctors at the time, who claimed that mineral waters were cure alls, Borsieri argued that they were effective in treating only certain ailments depending on the mineralogical components in the water.
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This broadside issued by the Royal Supreme Health Tribunal of the Republic of Venice states that the miraculous pill called "Pievano," secret recipe of Giovanni Giacomo Zannichelli, is legitimate, as decreed in 1769 and renewed in 1799. The miracle pill was for gastrointestinal problems, and most importantly would not interfere with malaria treatments made from "chinachina," or quinine, a component of cinchona tree bark. Malaria, from "mal aria," or bad air, was a widespread problem in Italy, especially in the central and southern regions and marshes of Venice.
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Antonio Cavagna Sangiuliani's monogram, surmounted by a crown with elements of the Cavagna family coat of arms: a golden lion and blue band with a golden basket ("cavagno") within.
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Bookplate designed for the collection by W.C. Titcomb, featuring the Cavagna family crest and the motto of the University of Illinois: Learning and Labor.
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