Nel 150° anniversario dalla scomparsa, lo stesso anno in cui la tutela di ambiente, ecosistemi e biodiversità è stata inclusa tra i principi fondamentali della Costituzione italiana, la commemorazione del matematico, fisico e botanico,... more
Nel 150° anniversario dalla scomparsa, lo stesso anno in cui la tutela di ambiente, ecosistemi e biodiversità è stata inclusa tra i principi fondamentali della Costituzione italiana, la commemorazione del matematico, fisico e botanico, anche un "padre della patria" e un giornalista, soprattutto un "maestro", ha un significato particolarmente emblematico. La raccolta di documenti e testimonianze illustra l'attualità dell'insegnamento di un ecologista e ambientalista ante litteram: uno scienziato impegnato nella formazione dell'unità nazionale italiana e un riformatore dell'istruzione, un dirigente scolastico innovatore della didattica e un docente di scienze che nel XIX secolo ha appassionato tanti giovani e "nuovi" italiani alla botanica.
The 16th century was a golden age for botany, a time when numerous naturalists devoted themselves to the study and documentation of plant diversity. A prominent figure among them was the German physician, botanist, and traveler Leonhard... more
The 16th century was a golden age for botany, a time when numerous naturalists devoted themselves to the study and documentation of plant diversity. A prominent figure among them was the German physician, botanist, and traveler Leonhard Rauwolf (1535?–1596), famous for his luxurious book herbarium containing plants from the Near East. Here we focus on the less studied, early book herbaria of Rauwolf. These form a three-volume plant collection bound in leather and gold, which contains over 600 plants that Rauwolf collected between 1560 and 1563 in S. France and N. Italy when he was a student of medicine. We show the botanical value of Rauwolf’s early book herbaria, exemplified by two exotic American specimens, namely one of the oldest surviving specimens of tobacco (Nicotiana rustica), collected in Italy, and the oldest known French record of prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica). We discuss Rauwolf’s professional botanical network during his student years and suggest that the famous S...
On the 150th anniversary of his death, same year in which the protection of environment, ecosystems and biodiversity was included among the fundamental principles of the Italian Constitution, the commemoration takes on a very emblematic... more
On the 150th anniversary of his death, same year in which the protection of environment, ecosystems and biodiversity was included among the fundamental principles of the Italian Constitution, the commemoration takes on a very emblematic meaning. Born in 1814, Ferdinando Pio Rosellini has been a mathematician, physicist and botanist, also a "father of the country" and a journalist, above all a "teacher". Documents and testimonies collected in this paper illustrates, and shows how much relevant is now, Ferdinando Rosellini's legacy, the heritage of the many teachings of an ecologist and environmentalist "ante litteram": a scientist involved in the formation of the Italian national unity and reformer of education, an innovative school manager and a science teacher who fascinated many young and "new" Italians in botany.
