Cleanliness in Geneva: The Struggle for Urban Hygiene in the 16th Century

Welcome to "Really Calvin, is this an ideal life? A historical podcast." In today's episode, we delve into the fascinating history of Geneva in the 16th century, a time when the city was grappling with cleanliness and hygiene issues. This podcast explores the challenges faced by Genevan authorities during the Reformation, from 1536 to 1600, in maintaining the cleanliness of the streets. Discover the ordinances put in place to compel residents to clean in front of their homes, the efforts to pave the streets, and the complex management of public toilets. We will also examine how these measures became crucial during plague epidemics, and how they shaped Geneva's urban environment. A captivating dive into the origins of urban hygiene and the persistent challenges of keeping a city clean in the face of its population's habits.

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This historical popularization podcast is developed as part of the interdisciplinary project entitled "A semantic and multilingual online edition of the Registers of the Council of Geneva / 1545-1550" (RCnum) and developed by the University of Geneva (UNIGE), as part of funding from the Swiss National Scientific Research Fund (SNSF). For more information: https://www.unige.ch/registresconseilge/en.

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