The Sustainable Past

Early Modern Water Usage in Italy and Lowland Europe with Dr. Janna Coomans & Davide Martino

October 28, 2022 Patricia Baker and Giacomo Savani Season 2 Episode 4
Early Modern Water Usage in Italy and Lowland Europe with Dr. Janna Coomans & Davide Martino
The Sustainable Past
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The Sustainable Past
Early Modern Water Usage in Italy and Lowland Europe with Dr. Janna Coomans & Davide Martino
Oct 28, 2022 Season 2 Episode 4
Patricia Baker and Giacomo Savani

In this week's episode, we continue  with the theme of water. We have a double interview with Dr.Janne Coomans a postdoctoral candidate at the University of Amsterdam and Davide Martino, a PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge. Both speak about their research on water usage in the early modern period, in northern Europe and Italy. We hear more about ideas of healthy water and the means of making water available to the wider public, and discuss the ideas of a  healthy water supply in the past, ideas, we continue to struggle with today.

Janna Coomans is an Assistant Professor at Utrecht University and a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Amsterdam. Janna is an urban historian, and her research focuses on social history and public health in premodern cities. Her PhD thesis was published in 2021 as Community, Urban Health and Environment in the Late Medieval Low Countries by Cambridge University Press.

Davide Martino is a PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge. His project is entitled 'Hydraulic philosophy in early modern European cities' and investigates the branch of early modern natural philosophy concerned with water, with a focus on three early modern European cities: Augsburg, Florence, and Amsterdam. His research interests include architectural history, global history, and innovative methodologies for the environmental humanities.


Show Notes

In this week's episode, we continue  with the theme of water. We have a double interview with Dr.Janne Coomans a postdoctoral candidate at the University of Amsterdam and Davide Martino, a PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge. Both speak about their research on water usage in the early modern period, in northern Europe and Italy. We hear more about ideas of healthy water and the means of making water available to the wider public, and discuss the ideas of a  healthy water supply in the past, ideas, we continue to struggle with today.

Janna Coomans is an Assistant Professor at Utrecht University and a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Amsterdam. Janna is an urban historian, and her research focuses on social history and public health in premodern cities. Her PhD thesis was published in 2021 as Community, Urban Health and Environment in the Late Medieval Low Countries by Cambridge University Press.

Davide Martino is a PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge. His project is entitled 'Hydraulic philosophy in early modern European cities' and investigates the branch of early modern natural philosophy concerned with water, with a focus on three early modern European cities: Augsburg, Florence, and Amsterdam. His research interests include architectural history, global history, and innovative methodologies for the environmental humanities.