The Academy of Sciences of the Institute of Bologna (''Accademia delle Scienze dell'Istituto di Bologna'') is an academic society in
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...
, Italy, that was founded in 1690 and prospered in the
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...
. Today it is closely associated with the
University of Bologna
The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continuo ...
.
Origins
By the end of the seventeenth century the University of Bologna, one of the world's oldest and once a thriving center of artistic and scientific discovery, had entered a long period of decline. The ''Academy degli Inquieti'' was founded in Bologna around 1690 by
Eustachio Manfredi
Eustachio Manfredi (20 September 1674 – 15 February 1739) was an Italian mathematician, astronomer and poet.
Biography
Eustachio Manfredi was born in Bologna on 20 September 1674.
He attended Jesuit school, then studied at the University of ...
as a place where mathematical topics could be discussed. At first, the academy held its meetings in Manfredi's house, where it began to attract scholars working in other disciplines such as
anatomy
Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...
and
physiology
Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...
, from Bologna and from nearby provinces. In 1694 the academy moved to the house of Jacopo Sandri, a professor of anatomy and medicine at the University of Bologna. In 1704 the academy acquired a more formal structure with the appointment of a president and a secretary.
In 1705 the academy moved again to the palazzo of Conte
Luigi Ferdinando Marsigli
Count Luigi Ferdinando Marsili (or Marsigli, Lat. ''Marsilius''; 10 July 1658 – 1 November 1730) was an Italian scholar and eminent natural scientist, who also served as an emissary and soldier.
Biography
Born in Bologna, he was a member ...
. Marsigli was a
polymath
A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...
, widely seen as the founder of the sciences of
oceanography
Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamic ...
and
marine geology
Marine geology or geological oceanography is the study of the history and structure of the ocean floor. It involves geophysical, geochemical, sedimentological and paleontological investigations of the ocean floor and coastal zone. Marine geolog ...
. His ambition, never fulfilled, was to complete his ''Treatise on the Structure of the Earthy Globe'', of which about 200 sheets have been preserved in the University of Bologna's library. Marsigli's goal with the institute was to gather all modern scientific knowledge within the rooms of an old senatorial residence, the Palazzo Poggi.
A constitution for the Institute of Science was approved on 12 December 1711. In 1712 Marsigli donated his museum to the city of Bologna, and it was moved to the
Palazzo Poggi
The Palazzo Poggi is a ''Palace#Italy, palazzo'' in Via Zamboni 33, Bologna, Italy.
It is the headquarters of the University of Bologna and of the Rector_(academia), rector of the university.
History
The Palazzo Poggi was built as the home of Al ...
.
Early years
![Jacopo Francesco Riccati (1676-1754)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Jacopo_Francesco_Riccati_%281676-1754%29.jpg)
The ''Accademia delle Scienze dell'Istituto di Bologna'' was formally inaugurated in 1714, and the ''Accademia degli Inquieti'' merged into it. Marsigli had also founded an
Academy of Fine Arts
The following is a list of notable art schools.
Accredited non-profit art and design colleges
* Adelaide Central School of Art
* Alberta College of Art and Design
* Art Academy of Cincinnati
* Art Center College of Design
* The Art Institute o ...
in his house for painting, sculpture and architecture. The Senate allowed him to join this academy, the ''Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna'', to the Science Academy.
Pope Clement XI
Pope Clement XI ( la, Clemens XI; it, Clemente XI; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721.
Clement XI w ...
was a strong supporter of the Fine Arts Academy and supplied it with its statutes. The Arts Academy was sometimes called the ''Accademia Clementina di Bologna'' in his honor. The ''Accademia Clementina'' was on the first floor of the Institute in the Palazzo Poggi, the ''Accademia delle Scienze'' on the second floor and the observatory on the third floor.
The science academy initially had five professorial chairs. Marsigli's vision was that the ''Accademia delle Scienze'' would carry out scientific research in the tradition of
Galileo
Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He was ...
and
Newton
Newton most commonly refers to:
* Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist
* Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton
Newton may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film
* Newton ( ...
. At first, the institute did not come up to Marsigli's expectations. He found that it was used only as a place for intellectual entertainment, a place to show off to visitors to the city, and few people attended the lectures or scientific demonstrations. In 1723 a serious conflict arose between Marsigli, who had largely funded the institute, and the Senate of Bologna, who were in charge of it. The Senate had not, in Marsigli's view, met the conditions of his donation. With pressure from the Pope, the issues were temporarily resolved to Marsigli's satisfaction in 1726, but his enemies continued to be obstructive, and in 1728 Marsigli abandoned his project in disgust. Marsigli died in 1730.
Various changes and additions were made to the two-story Palazzo Poggi to accommodate the needs of the institute. The Astronomical Observatory Tower (''Specola'') was built in 1725 to a design by
Carlo Francesco Dotti. Laboratories, galleries and workshops were set up, and the institute became a research facility as well as a venue for exchanging information. In 1727 Marsigli transferred his collection of materials from the
Dutch East and
West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
to the institute. The institute published its first volume of ''Proceedings'' in 1731, three volumes between 1745 and 1747, and five more volumes before the end of the eighteenth century. The institute helped pull Bologna out of its provincial isolation, reengaging with centers such as the
French Academy of Sciences
The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV of France, Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific me ...
and the British
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
.
Age of Enlightenment
![Benoit XIV](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Benoit_XIV.jpg)
Prospero Lambertini, archbishop of Bologna and later
Pope Benedict XIV
Pope Benedict XIV ( la, Benedictus XIV; it, Benedetto XIV; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758.Antipope ...
, was a strong supporter of the institute. Elected Pope in 1741, he arranged for purchase of astronomical instruments for the ''Specola'' observatory from
Jonathan Sisson
Jonathan Sisson (1690 – 1747) was a prominent English instrument maker, the inventor of the modern theodolite with a sighting telescope for surveying, and a leading maker of astronomical instruments.
Career
Jonathan Sisson was born in Lincoln ...
of London. He launched a major project to reorganize the library of the ''Istituto delle Scienze e della Arti'', building the "Benedictine" wing of the ''Aula Magna'' reading room, now part of the university library. The collections and library of the
Ulisse Aldrovandi
Ulisse Aldrovandi (11 September 1522 – 4 May 1605) was an Italian naturalist, the moving force behind Bologna's botanical garden, one of the first in Europe. Carl Linnaeus and the comte de Buffon reckoned him the father of natural history st ...
(1522-1605), the natural historian, were transferred from the university to the institute. The influence of Aldrovandi may be seen in the "liberal
Diluvianism
A flood myth or a deluge myth is a myth in which a great flood, usually sent by a deity or deities, destroys civilization, often in an act of divine retribution. Parallels are often drawn between the flood waters of these myths and the primaeval ...
" of the institute's scientists at this time, who believed in a "balanced integration of science, philosophy and religion." In 1742
Ercole Lelli
Ercole Lelli (14 September 1702 – 7 March 1766) was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque, active mainly in Northern Italy, including his native city of Bologna, as well as Padua and Piacenza.
Lelli was a pupil of the painter Giovanni Pietro ...
was asked to supply
wax anatomical model
A wax sculpture is a depiction made using a waxy substance. Often these are effigies, usually of a notable individual, but there are also death masks and scenes with many figures, mostly in relief.
The properties of beeswax make it an excell ...
s for the institute's Museum of Anatomy. In 1743 the institute obtained the donation of the Naturalia Museum collection of natural objects that had been assembled by Senator
Ferdinando Cospi
Marchese Ferdinando Cospi (1606 - 1686) was a Bolognese nobleman who acquired a large collection of natural curiosities, donated for the use of scholars to the city of Bologna in 1657.
Early life
Ferdinando Cospi was born in Bologna in 1606, so ...
.
In 1744 the advice of
Pieter van Musschenbroek
Pieter van Musschenbroek (14 March 1692 – 19 September 1761) was a Dutch scientist. He was a professor in Duisburg, Utrecht, and Leiden, where he held positions in mathematics, philosophy, medicine, and astronomy. He is credited with the inven ...
and
Willem 's Gravesande
Willem Jacob 's Gravesande (26 September 1688 – 28 February 1742) was a Dutch mathematician and natural philosopher, chiefly remembered for developing experimental demonstrations of the laws of classical mechanics and the first experimental m ...
was sought in acquiring instruments from the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
to teach and explore the theories of Galileo and Newton. In 1745 the institute opened a ''Gabinetto di Fisica'', a room that held a museum and a laboratory for exploring physics. The entire workshop of the optical instrument maker
Giuseppe Campani
Giuseppe Campani (1635–July 28, 1715) was an Italian optician and astronomer who lived in Rome during the latter half of the 17th century.
Life
Giuseppe Campani was born in 1635.
He was an Umbrian from Castel San Felice near Spoleto.
His lens ...
(1635-1715) was donated to the ''Gabinetto di Fisica'' in 1747. Additional funds were supplied to improve the chemical laboratories and support the Professor of Chemistry. In 1754 Cardinal
Filippo Maria Monti
Filippo Maria Monti (or Cardinal de Monti) (23 March 1675 – 17 January 1754) was a Cardinal in the Catholic Church, elevated by Pope Benedict XIV on 9 September 1743.
After his death, his large library became the nucleus of the library of th ...
gave the institute his 12,000-volume library and a collection of paintings that included portraits of major scientific figures. The library was formally opened in 1756. In 1757
Giovanni Antonio Galli was made Professor of
Obstetrics
Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...
, and the next year the Pope overrode opposition and established a school of obstetrics at the institute.
After the reforms by Pope Benedict XIV, the Science Academy became a center for all who wanted to advance sciences in Bologna. A new interest arose in the theories of
Marcello Malpighi
Marcello Malpighi (10 March 1628 – 30 November 1694) was an Italian biologist and physician, who is referred to as the "Founder of microscopical anatomy, histology & Father of physiology and embryology". Malpighi's name is borne by several phy ...
,
René Descartes
René Descartes ( or ; ; Latinized: Renatus Cartesius; 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, widely considered a seminal figure in the emergence of modern philosophy and science. Mathem ...
and
Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the grea ...
, and in the teachings of
Nicolaus Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus (; pl, Mikołaj Kopernik; gml, Niklas Koppernigk, german: Nikolaus Kopernikus; 19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath, active as a mathematician, astronomer, and Catholic Church, Catholic cano ...
,
Galileo Galilei
Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He was ...
and
Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...
, as well as interest in social issues. The physicist
Laura Bassi
Laura Maria Caterina Bassi Veratti (29 October 1711 – 20 February 1778) was an Italian physicist and academic. Recognized and depicted as "Minerva" (goddess of wisdom), she was the first woman to have a doctorate in science, and the second wo ...
, who in 1732 had become the second European woman to be awarded a university degree, became a member of the institute where she presented annual papers such as her 1746 ''On the compression of air''. Another early female member was
Émilie du Châtelet
Gabrielle Émilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil, Marquise du Châtelet (; 17 December 1706 – 10 September 1749) was a French natural philosopher and mathematician from the early 1730s until her death due to complications during childbirth in 1749. ...
. The chemist
Bartolomeo Beccari looked for ways to make populations resistant to
famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, Demographic trap, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. Th ...
through a new type of emergency diet. The academy reached a high level of scientific progress towards the end of the eighteenth century under its President
Luigi Galvani
Luigi Galvani (, also ; ; la, Aloysius Galvanus; 9 September 1737 – 4 December 1798) was an Italian physician, physicist, biologist and philosopher, who studied animal electricity. In 1780, he discovered that the muscles of dead frogs' legs ...
. In 1791 he published his revolutionary treaty ''de viribus electricitatis in motu musculari'' ("Commentary on the Force of Electricity on Muscular Motion").
Later history
![Seventeenth century globe - Palazzo Poggi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Seventeenth_century_globe_-_Palazzo_Poggi.jpg)
The
Napoleonic period
The Napoleonic era is a period in the history of France and Europe. It is generally classified as including the fourth and final stage of the French Revolution, the first being the National Assembly, the second being the Legislative ...
caused great upheavals. Around 1802 or 1803 the ''Accademia Clementina'' was dissolved, leaving only the Science Academy. In 1804 the academy was temporarily suspended. It reopened in 1829 at the command of Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari, the future
Pope Gregory XVI
Pope Gregory XVI ( la, Gregorius XVI; it, Gregorio XVI; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in 1 June 1846. He h ...
(Pope from 1831 to 1846), who saw the academy as the authoritative source for scientific opinions and advice to the
Papal States
The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...
.
Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...
(Pope from 1846 to 1878) considered it an important vehicle for achieving scientific and social progress. Prominent members during those years included
Antonio Alessandrini
Antonio Alessandrini (30 July 1786, Bologna – 6 April 1861 in the same city).
Antonio Alessandrini taught comparative anatomy and veterinary science at the University of Bologna. He was president of the Accademia delle Scienze of the city and ...
,
Antonio Bertoloni Antonio Bertoloni (February 8, 1775 in Sarzana – April 17, 1869 in Bologna) was an Italian physician and botanist who made extensive studies of Italian plants. He also collected notable samples of Central American flora.
Biography
He studied me ...
, his son
Giuseppe Bertoloni
Giuseppe Bertoloni (16 September 1804, in Sarzana – 19 December 1874, in Bologna) was an Italian botanist and entomologist.
He was professor of botany in the University of Bologna which conserves his collections in the University Museum. Ber ...
,
Giovanni Giuseppe Bianconi, and
Charles Lucien Bonaparte
Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte, 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano (24 May 1803 – 29 July 1857), was a French naturalist and ornithologist. Lucien and his wife had twelve children, including Cardinal Lucien Bonaparte.
Life and career
...
.
The institute experienced serious economic problems during the years that immediately followed the annexation of the Papal Legation of Bologna by the
Kingdom of Italy
The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...
in 1859, in which the city of Bologna lost much of its political importance. In 1883 "Royal" was added to the academy's name. This was dropped in 1945.
In the later nineteenth century and the first part of the twentieth century the academy revived and was home to many famous scientists including
Francesco Rizzoli
Francesco Rizzoli (11 July 1809 – 24 May 1880) was an Italian politician, surgeon and physician, considered one of the fathers of modern orthopedics.
Doctor Joseph Ruggi speaks of him in his 1924 memoirs: "During the intervention he was in such ...
,
Augusto Righi
Augusto Righi (27 August 1850 – 8 June 1920) was an Italian physicist and a pioneer in the study of electromagnetism. He was born and died in Bologna.
Biography
Born in Bologna, Righi was educated in his home town, taught physics at Bologn ...
,
Giovanni Capellini
Giovanni Capellini (23 August 1833 – 28 May 1922) was an Italians, Italian geologist and paleontologist.
He was a Senator of the Kingdom of Italy in the seventeenth legislature.
Birth and education
Giovanni Capellini was born on 23 August ...
,
Luigi Calori
Luigi Calori (8 February 1807 – 19 December 1896) was an Italian physician who was Professor of Human Anatomy at the University of Bologna for over 50 years.
Life
Luigi Calori was born in San Pietro in Casale in 1807, son of Teresa Gibelli an ...
and
Pietro Albertoni. At the start of the twentieth century there was a move to establish a new faculty of human sciences, led by scholars such as
Giosuè Carducci
Giosuè Alessandro Giuseppe Carducci (; 27 July 1835 – 16 February 1907) was an Italian poet, writer, literary critic and teacher. He was very noticeably influential, and was regarded as the official national poet of modern Italy. In 1906, h ...
and
Giovanni Pascoli
Giovanni Placido Agostino Pascoli (; 31 December 1855 – 6 April 1912) was an Italian poet, classical scholar and an emblematic figure of Italian literature in the late nineteenth century. Alongside Gabriele D'Annunzio, he was one of the great ...
. In 1907, the academy admitted legal scholars for the first time. Under the Fascist regime, the academy played a leading role in the new
Royal Academy of Italy
The Royal Academy of Italy ( it, Reale Accademia d'Italia, italic=no) was a short-lived Italian academy of the Fascist period. It was created on 7 January 1926 by royal decree,See reference . but was not inaugurated until 28 October 1929. It was e ...
, due to important scholars such as
Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi, 1st Marquis of Marconi (; 25 April 187420 July 1937) was an Italians, Italian inventor and electrical engineering, electrical engineer, known for his creation of a practical radio wave-based Wireless telegrap ...
and
Alessandro Ghigi
Alessandro Ghigi (9 February 1875 – 20 November 1970) was an Italian zoologist, naturalist and environmentalist.
Life
Alessandro Ghigi was born in Bologna on 9 February 1875. He attended the University of Bologna, graduating with a degree in N ...
. After World War II the Academy of Italy was dissolved, and the Bologna Academy found itself again in serious financial difficulties.
Today
The academy today publishes original work in the fields of the humanities and the sciences, and promotes conferences and debates. The academy cooperates with the University of Bologna to arrange seminars attended by about 1,500 academics annually. With its legacy of frescoes by
Pellegrino Tibaldi
Pellegrino Tibaldi (Valsolda, 1527–Milan, 1596), also known as Pellegrino di Tibaldo de Pellegrini, was an Italian mannerism, mannerist architect, sculpture, sculptor, and mural Painting, painter.
Biography
Tibaldi was born in Puria di Valsol ...
, it is particularly involved in the
history of art
The history of art focuses on objects made by humans for any number of spiritual, narrative, philosophical, symbolic, conceptual, documentary, decorative, and even functional and other purposes, but with a primary emphasis on its aesthetic vis ...
and
restoration of art.
Scientific journals
The Academy has published several journals during its history, some of which have been digitised and are accessible online. Typically, each journal was published in a series of up to about 10 volumes, the last in each series including a general index. Those journals include:
* ''Annali di storia naturale'', 1829-1830.
* ''Novi Commentarii Academiae Scientiarum Instituti Bononiensis'', 1834-1849.
* ''Nuovi annali delle scienze naturali'', 1838-1854.
* ''Memorie della Accademia delle Scienze dell'Istituto di Bologna'', 1850at least 1923.
* ''Rendiconti delle Sessioni dell'Accademia delle Scienze dell'Istituto di Bologna'', 1851-1857.
Notes and references
Notes
Citations
Sources
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{{authority control
University of Bologna
1690 establishments in Italy
Learned societies of Italy
Educational institutions established in the 1690s