ABSTRACT
Sometimes accompanied by cretinism, which stunts physical and cognitive development, goitre was described in ancient and early modern texts alike as especially prominent, or 'endemic', among the low, labouring class living in the mountainous regions of Italy. Close analysis of the sculptures at the Sacro Monte of Varallo, Caravaggio's Crucifixion of Saint Andrew, Neapolitan presepi, and Ribera's prints will expand on Merke's categories to demonstrate that the representation of goitre in this period was varied and complex. Caricature is the vehicle for another source of the definition of goitre in early modern Italy. Moreover, the sheet provides evidence for the popular conceptions of goitre in early modern Italy as an infirmity that was socially coded and associated with the labouring classes.
