In Praise of the Ordinary: Shifting Knowledge and Practice in the Medical Use of Drinking Water in Italy, 1550-1750

This article is conceived as a contribution to our increasing appreciation of the importance of water for drinking purposes in early modern culture. By analyzing the medical recommendations contained in the case histories and consultations of three prominent Italian doctors—Epifanio Ferdinando, Francesco Redi, and Francesco Torti—it provides evidence of shifting medical knowledge and practice in the use of drinking water. It traces how, as the medical philosophies shifted, so too did the medical use of drinking water, as both aliment (part of a healthy and healing diet) and medicament (part of therapy to treat specific diseases). The most significant finding regards the increasing appreciation and enthusiasm for the health benefits of drinking ordinary local waters, from the mid-seventeenth century. Any ordinary local water will do—as long as it is pure, of good quality, and reputable—overturning a longstanding hierarchy of waters inherited from the ancient world.