The paper observes the experience of the plague and its consequences through 17th century reports, which were written by "first hand" witnesses of the plague Fabio Fino, a syndic in Koper and Giovanni Maria Marusig, a priest in Gorica. From both testimonies and other available sources the paper extracts collective emotions triggered by the epidemics in the years 1630/31 and 1682/83, their demographic consequences and changes ofthe social order. At the same time, the paper observes how the chroniclers’ positions, functions and personal involvement affected their reports.