Gaetano Osculati (born in Biassono, Lombardy, 29 November 1808; died in Milan, 14 March 1894) was an Italian naturalist.

Biography

At an early age he devoted himself to the study of the natural sciences, and in 1830/31 he visited Greece, Egypt, Asia Minor, and other provinces of the

Turkish empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. He embarked for South America in 1834, traversed the greater part of that continent, and in 1836 returned to Europe by the way of Cape Horn. In 1841 he visited Arabia, Armenia, Persia, and the

coast of Malabar The Malabar Coast is the southwestern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing m ...

, and in 1846 he visited the United States. After passing hurriedly through Canada, the United States, the Antilles, and Venezuela, he went to

Quito Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley o ...

, and thence started on an expedition to the Napo, a tributary of the Amazon. After several days' march he was abandoned by his native guides, but he succeeded in reaching the Napo alone, after a journey across a wide expanse of unsettled country and through trackless forests. He suffered for food, and during two weeks subsisted on palm leaves and a single kind of fruit. In 1848 he returned to Europe with a rich collection. He published ''Esplorazione delle regioni equatoriali lungo il Napo ed il fiume delle Amazzoni. Frammento di un viaggio fatto nelle due Americhe negli anni 1846-47-48'' (Milan, 1850 first edition, 1854 second edition).

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References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Osculati, Gaetano 1808 births 1894 deaths Naturalists from the Austrian Empire Italian naturalists Italian explorers