sense of self-sacrifice. His belief that every man is kind by nature perfectly aligns with his thoughtful and loving attitude towards patients. On top of his humane character, he adds his remarkable studies and deep understanding skills. In this period of his life, he also manages to become an able writer, producing a noticeable amount of scientific, political and historic works such as the short novel "I màrtiri americani" (The American martyrs, a novel on Christian missionaries massacred by Native American tribes). His political beliefs, however, which can also be found in his literary works, heavily hindered his career, which knew only little progress during the eighteen twenties. In his late twenties he focuses more on health policies (epidemics, medical statistics, smallpox vaccine): in 1826 he starts working at the Royal Vaccine Institute of Naples, of which he will become permanent secretary in 1840. In his first important work, “Miasmi paludosi e luoghi del Regno di Napoli dove si sviluppano” (Marshy stenches and places of the Reign of Naples where they thrive), Naples 1826, De Renzi thoroughly examines malaria, cholera, and other infectious diseases in the Kingdom of Naples, and explaines clearly and in great detail the concept of miasma, also mentioning the role of virus in epidemics. His endeavour in promoting immunization campaigns was largely appreciated by numerous scientific societies: among these, De Renzi was openly praised by the Jenner's Society of London and the Académie des Sciences of Paris. His activity was not limited to the Kingdom of Naples: he also deserves credit for introducing the practice of vaccination in the Papal States, credit which will be officially recognised in 1842, when he was granted a gold medal by pope Gregory XVI himself. The years of proficuous literary activity Along with his studies on pathology and infective diseases (which granted him fame as one of the greatest pathologists of the 1830s), during this decade he fully dedicated himself to literature. In 1831 he establishes his personal medical journal called Filiatre-Sebezio, which he continued to publish at his own expense until 1869, when it was absorbed by Liguria Medica, an important Italian medical journal. De Renzi's contribution to history of medicine Salvatore De Renzi's name is inextricably bound to his works as a scholar, to which he dedicated a tenacious and persistent endeavour throughout all his life. He, along with Francesco Puccinotti (1792-1872), can be considered one of the