Doctor Giuseppe De Marco

Abstract

A biographical and bibliographical study regarding Doctor Giuseppe De Marco is presented. His known work as a physician, the books he published and a great amount of material which survives in manuscript secure for him an outstanding place in Maltese medical history. This essay is mainly an attempt to introduce the author of a collection of medical manuscripts, lists of which are here published as a bibliographical study. After finishing his studies in Malta in 1742, he proceeded to Montpellier, where he did postgraduate work under Francois de Sauvages de la Croix, a physician of great repute. Soon after he was back home where the science and art of medicine, through the existence of the Holy Infirmary of the Knights, had reached a high standard, De Marco, possibly because he did not acquire a numerous clientele, dedicated himself to study. His interests were wide and his writings dealt with a broad range of medical topics, such as rabies, cholera, tuberculosis and smallpox.