Bartolomeo Ambrosini (1588 – 3 February 1657) was an Italian botanist, physician and naturalist, for over thirty years prefect of the Botanical Garden of Bologna and editor of many of the posthumous works of

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 ...

Biography

Bartolomeo Ambrosini was born in Bologna in 1588. Older brother of Giacinto (1605 - 1672), also a botanist, he earned degrees in

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

and

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

at 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 ...

in 1610. Here, as early as 1612, he taught at first

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premises ...

, then medicine, finally botany from 1619, and after Uterverio's death he was appointed prefect of the natural history museum and botanical garden of Bologna, serving in that position from 1642 until his death. When the

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

affected Italy in 1630, he worked hard as a volunteer doctor for his city, also issuing a handbook entitled ''Modo e facile preserva e Cura di Peste''. He died in 1657.

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

dedicated to him the genus ''

Ambrosinia ''Ambrosina'' is a genus in the family Araceae that consists of only one species, ''Ambrosina bassii'', and the only genus in the tribe Ambrosineae. This species is the smallest aroid in the Mediterranean, growing only to 8 cm tall. It is us ...

'' of the family

Araceae The Araceae are a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants in which flowers are borne on a type of inflorescence called a spadix. The spadix is usually accompanied by, and sometimes partially enclosed in, a spathe (or leaf-like bract). Also ...

, and the Archiginnasio of Bologna keeps two monuments (an epigraph and a bust) in his memory.

Works

He published several works on

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

and

, but is perhaps better known by having been commissioned by the Senate of Bologna to edit several volumes of the major works left unfinished by Aldrovandi, including the ''History of snakes and dragons'' (Bologna, 1639) and the ''History of monsters'' (Bologna, 1642). But Ambrosini also published works of his own, especially of medical and pharmacopeic. His botanical works consist of two small volumes. One of these was on the various plants which have been named after, or dedicated on account of their properties to saints, or called after sacred things. The title of this work is ''Panacea ex Herbis quæ a Sanctis denominantur concinnata Opus''. Bologna, 1630. This book gives an account of the properties, real or supposed, which the plants dedicated to holy persons or things possess. The other botanical work was on the

capsicum ''Capsicum'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the Solanum, nightshade family Solanaceae, native to Americas, the Americas, cultivated worldwide for their chili pepper or bell pepper fruit. Etymology and names The generic name may come f ...

plant, and has the title ''De Capsicorum Varietate cum suis Iconibus brevis Historia''. Bologna, 1630. It is illustrated with several drawings of the fruits of various species of capsicum, and gives a full detail of their history and properties. In 1657 he published a number of plates from the works of Aldrovandi with short descriptions, entitled ''Paralipomena accuratissima historiae omnium animalium quae in voluminibus Aldrovandi desiderantur''. The works of Aldrovandi which he edited were those on

quadrupeds Quadrupedalism is a form of locomotion where four limbs are used to bear weight and move around. An animal or machine that usually maintains a four-legged posture and moves using all four limbs is said to be a quadruped (from Latin ''quattuor' ...

reptiles Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the Class (biology), class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsid, sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, Squamata, squamates (lizar ...

, and

monsters A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...

, forming the ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth volumes of the folio edition of his works. In addition to these works on natural history he published several on

. The following are the titles as given by Manget: 1° “On the Treatment and Preservation from the Influence of the Plague” (''Modo e facile preserva e Cura di Peste a beneficio del Popolo di Bologna''). Bologna, 1631. 2° “On Theoretical Medicine” (''Theorica Medicina in Tabulas veluti digesta cum aliquot Consultationibus''). Bologna, 1632. 3° “On the Pulse” (''De Pulsibus''). Bologna, 1645. 4° “On external Diseases” (''De externis Malis Opusculum''). Bologna, 1656. 5° “On the Urine” (''De Urinis'') ; and others.

Main works

Aldrovandine

* (Editing), ''De quadrupedibus digitatis viuiparis libri tres'', et ''De quadrupedibus digitatis ouiparis libri duo'', Bologna 1637
online
. * (Editing), ''Serpentum, et draconum historiae libri duo'', Bologna 1639
online
. * (Editing), ''Monstrorum historia cum Paralipomenis historiae omnium animalium'', Bologna 1642
online
. * (Editing), ''Musaeum metallicum in libros 4 distributum'', Bologna 1648
online
.

Miscellaneous

* * * * *

Notes

Bibliography

* Serafino Mazzetti
''Repertorio di tutti i professori antichi, e moderni della famosa Università, e del celebre Istituto delle Scienze di Bologna''
Bologna 1848, p. 22, ''ad vocem''. *

Giammaria Mazzucchelli Count Giammaria Mazzuchelli (or Giovanni Maria Mazzucchelli) (28 November 1707 – 19 November 1765) was an Italian writer, bibliographer and historian. Biography Mazzuchelli was the son of Count Federico Mazzuchelli ( it., Brescia, 1671–174 ...

''Gli scrittori d'Italia cioè notizie storiche, e critiche intorno alle vite, e agli scritti dei letterati italiani''
vol. I, pars II, Brescia 1753, pp. 613–614, ''ad vocem''. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ambrosini, Bartolomeo 17th-century Italian botanists Italian naturalists 1588 births 1657 deaths Pre-Linnaean botanists Scientists from Bologna 17th-century Italian physicians Academic staff of the University of Bologna Physicians from Bologna