[Bernardino Ramazzini. Ante litteram epidemiologist]

Bernardino Ramazzini, born in Carpi in 1633 and deceased in Padua in 1714, is universally renowned father and founder of occupational health. This paper will present Bernardino Ramazzini under a different perspective, and will show that during his scientific career he continuously maintained the attitude of a modern epidemiologist. Reviewing all his scientific papers, and many papers commenting his activity, we present four major areas in which Ramazzini expressed in a direct and convincing way his epidemiologic culture: the epidemiologic constitutions and the work done mainly on physical subjects while he was in Modena; the general architecture of his most important book (De Morbis Artificum Diatriba); the first full description of an episode of environmental pollution which occurred in Finale Emilia in 1689 (in his book this episode is reported in the chapter describing the diseases of chemicals); the opening lectures of some academic years he gave while he was teaching, mainly, in Padua. To our knowledge the epidemiological attitude of Bernardino Ramazzini is not recognized yet in epidemiology textbooks.