Introduction or preface

- Mauro Capocci discusses a recent book by Frank Snowden, who reconstructs the history of the struggle against malaria in Italy during the 20th century, and Eugenia Tognotti's study of that sickness in Sardinia. Until 1970 malaria was endemic in Italy, concentrated traditionally in river plains and along the coasts, but with a lower mortality in North Italy because of the cold winter climate and drainage of the marshland areas. The two studies are notable not only for the history of medicine and science, but because of the attention they pay to the social and political aspects of the struggle against malaria. Keywords: Italy, History, Medicine, Malaria. Parole chiave: Italia, Storia, Medicina, Malaria.