Girolamo Segato (13 June 1792 – 3 February 1836) was an Italian naturalist, cartographer, Egyptologist, and anatomist. He is perhaps best known for his work in the artificial

petrifaction In geology, petrifaction or petrification () is the process by which organic material becomes a fossil through the replacement of the original material and the filling of the original pore spaces with minerals. Petrified wood typifies this proce ...

of human

cadaver A cadaver or corpse is a dead human body that is used by medical students, physicians and other scientists to study anatomy, identify disease sites, determine causes of death, and provide tissue to repair a defect in a living human being. Stud ...

s. Segato was born in the

Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its ...

monastery of Vedana. As a child, Segato learned basic sciences from Antonio Bagini, a

Sospirolo Sospirolo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Belluno in the Italian region of Veneto, located about north of Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Ven ...

priest. After studying under Bagini, Segato spent a short time as an accountant in

Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Veneti ...

before returning to secondary schooling in

Belluno Belluno (; lld, Belum; vec, Belùn) is a town and province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Located about north of Venice, Belluno is the capital of the province of Belluno and the most important city in the Eastern Dolomites region ...

, where his teacher was Tomaso Antonio Catullo. From 1818 onwards Segato participated in several archaeological expeditions to Egypt, where he became an expert in the techniques of

mummification A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furth ...

; however, most of his studies undertaken during these trips were lost. Upon his return to

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

in 1823, Segato developed a technique similar to mummification, but unique: rather than simply removing water from cadavers, Segato's method consisted of what appears to be mineralization or "petrification". His particular technique permitted to save the original colors and features of the textures, besides their elasticity. Most of his works can be found perfectly preserved at the

University of Florence The University of Florence (Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Firenze'', UniFI) is an Italian public research university located in Florence, Italy. It comprises 12 schools and has around 50,000 students enrolled. History The first universi ...

, but there is also an example at the

Royal Palace of Caserta The Royal Palace of Caserta ( it, Reggia di Caserta ) is a former royal residence in Caserta, southern Italy, constructed by the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies as their main residence as kings of Naples. It is the largest palace erected in Europ ...

: a table in the Old Apartments, the surface of which is made with the "petrification" technique. Word soon spread that Segato had acquired knowledge of Egyptian magic. Hampered by the society of his time, he was prompted to destroy all his notes before his death. Segato took to the grave the secret of the technique he developed, which, despite numerous studies and attempts to imitate, remains mysterious. It is said that, on his death, he would reveal his secret to his friend Pellegrini (nicknamed Pellegro), but he died prematurely. He died in 1836, and was buried in the

Basilica of Santa Croce The (Italian for 'Basilica of the Holy Cross') is the principal Franciscan church in Florence, Italy, and a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic Church. It is situated on the Piazza di Santa Croce, about 800 meters south-east of the Duomo. The ...

. Today, many of Segato's surviving petrified human remains can be found in the Museum of the Department of Anatomy in Florence.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Segato, Girolamo 1792 births 1836 deaths Italian naturalists Italian Egyptologists Lost inventions