Science Saturday: Opuscoli scientifici
This week we present the Italian scientific journal Opuscoli scientifici published by the Università di Bologna in the early 19th century. Our post today features illustrations from Volume 1 published in 1817. We hold Volumes 1-4, published 1817-1823. The University of Bologna in Italy was founded in 1088 and it is the oldest university in continuous operation in the world.
Opuscoli scientifici includes contributions from professors in different scientific disciplines such as medicine, botany, and biology. One of the articles by Professor di Botanica, Sebastiano Poggioli was cited in a recent article about the phototropism, or growth of an organism in response to a light stimulus, normally observed in plants. The article, “Phototropism: Bending towards Enlightenment” by Craig W. Whippo and Roger P. Hangarter notes that “as soon as it became more widely accepted that phototropism is stimulated by light in the 1800s, the focus turned toward identifying the property of light responsible. As early as 1817, Sebastiano Poggioli reported that blue wavelengths of light are more effective at orienting plant growth.”
Other topics in this volume of Opuscoli scientifici include an article on “animal magnetism” by Professor Giovanni Aldini, titled “Del mesmerismo altramenti detto magnetismo animale e delle dottrine che ne dipendon.” Giovanni Aldini was well-known for studying galvanism. His experiments included attempts at reanimating dead animals and people by stimulating muscles with electrical current. Aldini is thought to have inspired Mary Shelley‘s book Frankenstein because of his famous public demonstration of the electro-stimulation technique performed on an executed man named George Forster in London in 1803, which reanimated parts of Forster’s face and body.
Our post today features various illustrations related to different articles in this volume of Opuscoli scientifici, including annelid worms, fossils, skeletons, and different types of plants.
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–Sarah, Special Collections Senior Graduate Intern