89th SIBS National Congress on Climate and Life | Ozzano dell’Emilia (BO), Italy, 1-2 December 2016

DEMOGRAPHIC EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGES ON THE POPULATION OF CIVITELLA DEL TRONTO IN THE “YEAR WITHOUT A SUMMER” A. Orrù1*, M. Girotti1, R. Boano1, A. Coppa2, S. De Iasio3 1Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy; 2Department of Environmental Biology, University of Rome «La Sapienza», Rome, Italy; 3Department of Biosciences, University of Parma, Parma, Italy *E-mail: aorru@unito.it In the April of 1815, the eruption of the Tambora volcano (Indonesia) caused in the northern hemisphere a sharp drop in temperature with strong repercussions during the 1816, which was called “The year without a summer”. Almost everywhere, the harvests were destroyed. Speculation caused the increase in food prices so the populations suffered the effects of the famine, especially those of the lower classes. Furthermore, at the end of the year 1816 spreads a typhus epidemic lasted nearly nine months. In Civitella del Tronto (TE) the typhus epidemic began in December 1816 and ended in August 1817: during this period the number of deaths increased approximately six times without any difference between the sexes. Deaths of adolescents and adults increased proportionally. The highest number of deaths compared to the pre-crisis period was registered in the villages of the Eastern fractions: mobility in these villages was high, as shown by high values of exogamy, and therefore the greater was the probability of spread of typhus. Because in the documents is not indicated the cause of death it is difficult to distinguish the mortality due to famine from that due to the typhus.