Carestie in area lombarda tra fine Duecento e metà Trecento : uno sguardo attraverso le cronache coeve

As part of the recent debate on the “crisis of the 14th century”, the essay focuses on famines in Lombardy, from the simple increase in prices to famines that led to increased mortality. The focus has been placed on the news found in the chronicles of central-northern Italy, from the second half of the thirteenth to the first half of the fourteenth Century. A quick survey on different sources (in particular the statutes) confirmed that the concern of the city authorities for the regular supply of food is reflected in a multiplication of provisions that want to regulate the flow of food into the city. The Lombard cities, therefore, were vulnerable by crises and tended to offset local production with the purchase of long-distance products. The myth of a self-sufficient Lombardy that was not affected by the crises of subsistence must therefore be greatly reduced.