Baldo Angelo Abati (in Latin Baldus Angelus Abatius; born in

Gubbio Gubbio () is an Italian town and ''comune'' in the far northeastern part of the Italian province of Perugia (Umbria). It is located on the lowest slope of Mt. Ingino, a small mountain of the Apennines. History The city's origins are very ancient. ...

) was an Italian physician and naturalist. He lived in the second half of the sixteenth century. Baldo Angelo Abati’s ''De natura et de Vipera admirabili mirificis facultatibus eiusdem liber'' (published in 1589 in

Urbino Urbino ( ; ; Romagnol: ''Urbìn'') is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of ...

), was one of the first books about snakes. It was dedicated to

Francesco Maria II della Rovere Francesco Maria II della Rovere (20 February 1549 – 23 April 1631) was the last Duke of Urbino. Biography Born at Pesaro, Francesco Maria was the son of Guidobaldo II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, Count of Montefeltro and Vittoria Farnese ...

, the sixth duke of Urbino. A second edition appeared in 1591 in Urbino and a third in

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

in 1603. The latter edition was reprinted twice prior to 1660. Five of the 32 book chapters deal with the effects and medical uses of

venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

. In Chapter 14 Abati, who had dissected a rattlesnake, enumerated the edible parts of the snake and provided information about various methods for preparing of snake meat.

Works

*''De admirabili viperae natura, et de mirificis eiusdem facultatibus liber.'' Urbino, 1589
''De Admirabili Viperae natura, & de mirificis eiusdem facultatibus Liber''
Nuremberg, 1603. Online-edition der Sächsischen Landesbibliothek - Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Dresden.
Digital edition from 1660
by the

University and State Library Düsseldorf The University and State Library Düsseldorf (german: Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Düsseldorf, abbreviated ULB Düsseldorf) is a central service institution of Heinrich Heine University. Along with Bonn and Münster, it is also one of th ...

) *''Opus discussarum concertationum praeclarum, de rebus, verbis, et sententiis controversis, ex omnibus fere scriptoribus, libri XV.'' Pesaro, 1594.

Works

Further reading