Rambaldo di Collalto descend on Italy, looting and destroying. Agnese, Don Abbondio and Perpetua take refuge in the well-defended territory of the Unnamed. In their absence, their village is wrecked by the mercenaries. Chapters 31–33: Plague These chapters are occupied with an account of the plague of 1630, largely based on Giuseppe Ripamonti's De peste quae fuit anno 1630 (published in 1640). Manzoni's full version of this, Storia della Colonna Infame, was finished in 1829, but was not published until it was included as an appendix to the revised edition of 1842. The plague is not believed to actually be the plague by many, slow progress helps doubts arise in common people and even doctors. Most people in Italy think it has to do with Frenchmen enlisting witches to make poison from spiders. The spider poison is then spread around and that is how they believe the plague is spread. As more people get sick, the capuchins help them in the Lazarettos. A memorable one is Fra Frederick. The Tribunal of Health is the government of Italy realize they need more people to help contain and manage the plague. Three classes are created under the Tribunal of Health. The 3rd class is the monatti who do the brunt work of carrying and deposing of the dead bodies, the 2nd apparittori are people who precede funerals, and the 1st class is the commissaries who oversee both of the lower two classes. Another story/rumor is spread to back up the spider witch poison theory. The end of August 1630 sees the death in Milan of the original villains of the story. It happens like so, back in Don Roderick's place, he is joyful and makes fun of the so called illness. Until, one night after a party he catches the plague. In his fright, trusts Grizo to go get a doctor for him. Grizo betrays him for Don Roderick's riches and turns him into the monatti. Grizo is then hit by karma when his greed to check for money in Don Roderick's clothes makes him fall ill too, and dies quickly. Renzo, troubled by Agnese's letters and recovering from plague, finally decides his decision to go look for Lucy his cousin Bortolo has put down for so long. He returns to his native village to find that many of the inhabitants are dead and that his house and vineyard have been destroyed.