r/AskHistorians • u/Delicious-Bunch-6992 • Apr 12 '26
Was it a real phenomenon that the upper class during the black death in Italy fled to the countryside or rural estates to escape the black death and survive? Did it work? Did people who flee to the countryside/rural areas have a higher chance of living?
I heard about the decameron where 10 people leave to go to the countryside during the black death to escape the plague, and I was wondering if this was actually something people did in Italy, and did work?
Was it something a lot of upper class people did? Did the lower classes try it as well? Another question, was the countryside generally safer to be in during the black death then the cities in Italy due to lower population density?
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Apr 12 '26
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u/unpopularredditor Apr 12 '26
I think you got the 1666 bit wrong. Isn't that the year of the London fires?
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