Syphilis sive morbus Gallicus

work by Fracastoro

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June 17, 2026

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"Syphilis sive morbus Gallicus" is a 1530 work by Italian physician Girolamo Fracastoro. The title translates to "Syphilis or the French Disease". Fracastoro's poem describes the disease and is credited with naming it. While some called it the Neapolitan disease, its origins are debated.12

Fracastoro also proposed a scientific germ theory of disease, suggesting that diseases are caused by rapidly multiplying minute bodies transmitted through direct contact, carriers, or the air. This was a significant early scientific statement on contagion, infection, and disease transmission.1

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Girolamo Fracastoro
He is best-known for “Syphilis sive morbus Gallicus” (1530; “Syphilis or the French Disease”), a work in rhyme giving an account of the disease, which he named. He made an intense study of epidemic diseases, and, while in the service of Pope Paul III at the Council of Trent…
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He is best-known for “Syphilis sive morbus Gallicus” (1530; “Syphilis or the French Disease”), a work in rhyme giving an account of the disease, which he named. He made an intense study of epidemic diseases, and, while in the service of Pope Paul III at the Council of Trent…
Read More

history of medicine
The spread of new learning
…of the disease syphilis, entitled Syphilis sive morbus Gallicus (1530; “Syphilis or the French Disease”), was written in verse. Although Fracastoro called syphilis the French disease, others called it the Neapolitan disease, for it was said to have been brought to Naples from America by the sailors of Christopher Columbus.…
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…of the disease syphilis, entitled Syphilis sive morbus Gallicus (1530; “Syphilis or the French Disease”), was written in verse. Although Fracastoro called syphilis the French disease, others called it the Neapolitan disease, for it was said to have been brought to Naples from America by the sailors of Christopher Columbus.…
Read More