 In 16th century Italy , Gabriele Falloppio wrote a treatise on syphilis . The earliest documented strain of syphilis , first appearing in Europe in a 1490s outbreak , caused severe symptoms and often death within a few months of contracting the disease . Falloppio 's treatise is the earliest uncontested description of condom use : it describes linen sheaths soaked in a chemical solution and allowed to dry before use . The cloths he described were sized to cover the glans of the penis , and were held on with a ribbon . Falloppio claimed that an experimental trial of the linen sheath demonstrated protection against syphilis . 
