Camillo Róndani
Encyclopedia
Camillo Róndani was an Italian
entomologist
noted for his studies of Diptera
.
the city was part of the French Empire Napoleon having crowned himself King of Italy. The Róndani family were wealthy landowners and of "rich and of ancient origins" with ecclesiastical connections preliminary and Camillo's early education was in a seminary. He then passed into the public school system where, encouraged by Macedonio Melloni
his physics
and chemistry
teacher in the preparatory course for the University of Parma, he did not attend the law lessons his family had insisted on. He attended mineralogy
classes given by a Franciscan
priest, Father Bagatta and was taught natural history, a complementary course to botany
for Medicine and Pharmacy. The Reader of Botany to the Athenaeum Parmesan was Professori Giorgio Jan
, assistant at the Imperial Museum in Vienna
and holder of the chair of zoology
in Parma University. From Jan Róndani received many gifts to his collection: Coleoptera and a herbarium
. Through Jan Róndani gained access to the house of the Conte Stefano Sanvitale, where an entomological club had access to the insect collection of Pietro Rossi.
, a condition of his proposed appointment as Professor of Natural Science in Parma came to nothing as Italy was thrown into political turmoil, the University urging its students to die for the unity of Italy, a resurgent demand of Giuseppe Garibaldi
. Following the Ducal restoration after three years of provisional government not only was the chair of Zoology a distant dream, but the legal faculty had been removed to Piacenza
in order to diminish the number of politically active students. Camillo and his brother Emilio, who had been imprisoned by the temporary government, turned to colonial commerce. Róndani studied the insects of the exotic products describing two of the beetles he found Cis jalapa from chillies and Brucus dolici from Santa Domingo coffee.
and, with Petronilla, poetry and the arts. It was at this time that his studies of Diptera began, possibly because of their agricultural significance. A few years later Petronilla died and Róndani threw himself into entomology, working especially on the biology of parasitic insects (Diptera and Hymenoptera).
on insects of Sicilian
amber
. Further publications rapidly followed on species new to Italy, new to science, plans of classifications, taxonomic arguments, and initial work on the his masterwork, the Prodomo, a treatise on Diptera
. Many were (confusingly) printed locally at the printing office in Parma, but then, following amendments in the entomological journals Nuovi Annali di Scienze Naturali di Bologna, Magazin de Zoologie de M. J. Guérin Ménéville, and the Annales de la Société Entomologique de France
.
In the nationalistic wars of 1848 the Róndani's were recalled to Parma. Camillo was briefly elected to represent Traversetolo. Following the catastrophic defeat of the Piedmontese at the Battle of Novara
, Róndani retired back to Guardasone, and for some years, as Italians became increasingly involved in colonial ambition, worked on exotic Diptera. In these years he began to collaborate with the Irish
entomologist Alexander Henry Haliday
with whom he was to co-found the Italian Entomological Society.
Róndani also became a popular writer for several newspapers and had various assignments from government and from the Camera d'Agricoltura e Commercio [Agriculture and Commerce Chamber] and the Giunta Superiore di Statistica [Advanced Committee of Statistics] for which he was awarded a medal. He maintained his interest in politics to the last, being an influential member of the Consigli della Provincia e del Comune, unhesitatingly supporting liberal and progressive ideals. Come uomo fu moderatissimo nei desideri, semplice nel modo di vivere, costante negli affetti, irremovibile nei principii.. moderate, simple, constant, and principled Camillo Róndani died on September 17, 1879. Róndani's collection is in La Specola Museum
, Florence, Italy.
Picture of Camillo Róndani http://atene.provincia.parma.it/scuole/ssrondan/www/a1/rondani.jpg
Other works see Sabrosky's Family Group Names in Diptera
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
entomologist
Entomology
Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...
noted for his studies of Diptera
Diptera
Diptera , or true flies, is the order of insects possessing only a single pair of wings on the mesothorax; the metathorax bears a pair of drumstick like structures called the halteres, the remnants of the hind wings. It is a large order, containing an estimated 240,000 species, although under half...
.
Early years
When Camillo Róndani was born in ParmaParma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
the city was part of the French Empire Napoleon having crowned himself King of Italy. The Róndani family were wealthy landowners and of "rich and of ancient origins" with ecclesiastical connections preliminary and Camillo's early education was in a seminary. He then passed into the public school system where, encouraged by Macedonio Melloni
Macedonio Melloni
Macedonio Melloni was an Italian physicist, notable for demonstrating that radiant heat has similar physical properties to those of light.-Life:...
his physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
teacher in the preparatory course for the University of Parma, he did not attend the law lessons his family had insisted on. He attended mineralogy
Mineralogy
Mineralogy is the study of chemistry, crystal structure, and physical properties of minerals. Specific studies within mineralogy include the processes of mineral origin and formation, classification of minerals, their geographical distribution, as well as their utilization.-History:Early writing...
classes given by a Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
priest, Father Bagatta and was taught natural history, a complementary course to botany
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
for Medicine and Pharmacy. The Reader of Botany to the Athenaeum Parmesan was Professori Giorgio Jan
Giorgio Jan
Giorgio Jan was an Italian taxonomist, zoologist, botanist, herpetologist, and writer. He is also known as Georg Jan or Georges Jan....
, assistant at the Imperial Museum in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and holder of the chair of zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
in Parma University. From Jan Róndani received many gifts to his collection: Coleoptera and a herbarium
Herbarium
In botany, a herbarium – sometimes known by the Anglicized term herbar – is a collection of preserved plant specimens. These specimens may be whole plants or plant parts: these will usually be in a dried form, mounted on a sheet, but depending upon the material may also be kept in...
. Through Jan Róndani gained access to the house of the Conte Stefano Sanvitale, where an entomological club had access to the insect collection of Pietro Rossi.
Law, politics and commerce
Róndani qualified as a lawyer in 1831. A plan to study zoology at the University of ParisUniversity of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
, a condition of his proposed appointment as Professor of Natural Science in Parma came to nothing as Italy was thrown into political turmoil, the University urging its students to die for the unity of Italy, a resurgent demand of Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi was an Italian military and political figure. In his twenties, he joined the Carbonari Italian patriot revolutionaries, and fled Italy after a failed insurrection. Garibaldi took part in the War of the Farrapos and the Uruguayan Civil War leading the Italian Legion, and...
. Following the Ducal restoration after three years of provisional government not only was the chair of Zoology a distant dream, but the legal faculty had been removed to Piacenza
Piacenza
Piacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza...
in order to diminish the number of politically active students. Camillo and his brother Emilio, who had been imprisoned by the temporary government, turned to colonial commerce. Róndani studied the insects of the exotic products describing two of the beetles he found Cis jalapa from chillies and Brucus dolici from Santa Domingo coffee.
Marriage and Farming
In 1833 Róndani married his first love, Petronilla, for whom he later named a new species of Ceria now Sphiximorpha petronillae. The couple ran a family farm on the pleasant hillsides of Guardasone. This was transformed with dams and scientific soil management systems, and he used it to study agronomyAgronomy
Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants for food, fuel, feed, fiber, and reclamation. Agronomy encompasses work in the areas of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and soil science. Agronomy is the application of a combination of sciences like biology,...
and, with Petronilla, poetry and the arts. It was at this time that his studies of Diptera began, possibly because of their agricultural significance. A few years later Petronilla died and Róndani threw himself into entomology, working especially on the biology of parasitic insects (Diptera and Hymenoptera).
Years of entomology
Although little of his entomological work was published by Róndani himself, it raised him to preeminence. In 1840, he became a member of the Academy of France, published his first paper, and corresponded with Félix Édouard Guérin-MénevilleFélix Édouard Guérin-Méneville
Félix Édouard Guérin-Méneville was a French entomologist.Guérin-Méneville changed his surname from Guérin in 1836. He was the author of the illustrated work Iconographie du Règne Animal de G. Cuvier 1829–1844, a complement to the work of Georges Cuvier and Pierre André Latreille, which lacked...
on insects of Sicilian
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
amber
Amber
Amber is fossilized tree resin , which has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Amber is used as an ingredient in perfumes, as a healing agent in folk medicine, and as jewelry. There are five classes of amber, defined on the basis of their chemical constituents...
. Further publications rapidly followed on species new to Italy, new to science, plans of classifications, taxonomic arguments, and initial work on the his masterwork, the Prodomo, a treatise on Diptera
Diptera
Diptera , or true flies, is the order of insects possessing only a single pair of wings on the mesothorax; the metathorax bears a pair of drumstick like structures called the halteres, the remnants of the hind wings. It is a large order, containing an estimated 240,000 species, although under half...
. Many were (confusingly) printed locally at the printing office in Parma, but then, following amendments in the entomological journals Nuovi Annali di Scienze Naturali di Bologna, Magazin de Zoologie de M. J. Guérin Ménéville, and the Annales de la Société Entomologique de France
Annales de la Société Entomologique de France
Annales de la Société Entomologique de France is one of the oldest entomology journals in the world. It was founded in 1832, and began a new series in 1965, when it merged with and .-External links:...
.
In the nationalistic wars of 1848 the Róndani's were recalled to Parma. Camillo was briefly elected to represent Traversetolo. Following the catastrophic defeat of the Piedmontese at the Battle of Novara
Battle of Novara
There are three military events that are called Battle of Novara, fought next to Novara, Northern Italy:* Battle of Novara , fought between France and Milan...
, Róndani retired back to Guardasone, and for some years, as Italians became increasingly involved in colonial ambition, worked on exotic Diptera. In these years he began to collaborate with the Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
entomologist Alexander Henry Haliday
Alexander Henry Haliday
Alexander Henry Haliday, also known as Enrico Alessandro Haliday and Alexis Heinrich Haliday sometimes Halliday , was an Irish entomologist. He is primarily known for his work on Hymenoptera, Diptera and Thysanoptera, but Haliday worked on all insect orders and on many aspects of entomology.Haliday...
with whom he was to co-found the Italian Entomological Society.
Last years
In 1855, when Luisa Maria of Borbone, sister of Maria Christina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies reopened the university of Parma, which had virtually closed its doors in 1849, Róndani became Professor of Agronomy. From this date the Prodromo began in earnest, as Róndani alternated teaching with research much of it in applied entomology. He also remarried this time to his cousin Elisa Gelati. Ten years Parma became part of the United Provinces of Central Italy, joining Tuscany, Modena and Piacenza). This led to changes in the university. The chair of agronomy was abolished and Róndani became emerito University professor of the University and insignito of the cross of the Saints Maurizio and Lazzaro. He became a natural history teacher in the R.? Grammar school and also Director of the Agrarian Institute where he taught agronomy. Róndani remained in both posts for the next ten years though the Institute passed to the Provincial Administration in 1865.Róndani also became a popular writer for several newspapers and had various assignments from government and from the Camera d'Agricoltura e Commercio [Agriculture and Commerce Chamber] and the Giunta Superiore di Statistica [Advanced Committee of Statistics] for which he was awarded a medal. He maintained his interest in politics to the last, being an influential member of the Consigli della Provincia e del Comune, unhesitatingly supporting liberal and progressive ideals. Come uomo fu moderatissimo nei desideri, semplice nel modo di vivere, costante negli affetti, irremovibile nei principii.. moderate, simple, constant, and principled Camillo Róndani died on September 17, 1879. Róndani's collection is in La Specola Museum
La Specola
Museum of Zoology and Natural History, best known as La Specola, is a museum in Florence, central Italy, located next to the Pitti Palace. The name "Specola" means observatory, a reference to the astronomical observatory founded there in 1790...
, Florence, Italy.
Picture of Camillo Róndani http://atene.provincia.parma.it/scuole/ssrondan/www/a1/rondani.jpg
Insects named in honour of Róndani
- Rondania Robineau-Desvoidy, 1850 –a tachinid fly genusGenusIn biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
TachinidaeTachinidaeTachinidae is a large and rather variable family of true flies within the insect order Diptera, with more than 8,200 known species and many more to be discovered. There are over 1300 species in North America. Insects in this family are commonly called tachina flies or simply tachinids... - Chrysogaster rondanii Maibach & Goeldlin, 1995- a hoverfly Syrphidae
- Fannia rondanii (Strobl,1893)- a lesser house fly FanniidaeFanniidaeThe Fanniidae are a small group of true flies largely confined to the Holarctic and temperate Neotropical regions.There are 11 Afrotropical species, 29 Oriental, and 14 Australasian. See Biogeographic Regions....
- Tabanus rondanii BellardiLuigi BellardiLuigi Bellardi was an Italian malacologist and entomologist who specialised in Diptera.Bellardi was born in Genoa and died in Turin...
, 1859- a horsefly Tabanidae from MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of... - Philoliche rondani Bertoloni, 1861- a horsefly Tabanidae from South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
- Pteromalus rondanii Dalla Torre, 1898- a parasitic wasp PteromalidaePteromalidaePteromalidae is a very large family of parasitic wasps, with some 3,450 described species in some 640 genera...
- Rhopalocerus rondanii Villa, 1833 a beetle ColydiinaeColydiinaeColydiinae is a subfamily of beetles, commonly known as cylindrical bark beetles. They have been treated historically as a family, but have recently been moved into the Zopheridae , where they constitute the bulk of the diversity of the new composite family, with about 140 genera worldwide. There...
- Tetralobus rondanii Bertoloni, 1849 a click-beetle Elateridae
Works
- Dipterologiae Italicae prodromusDipterologiae Italicae prodromusDipterologiae Italicae prodromus is a fundamental work of systematic entomology by the Italianentomologist Camillo Róndani.It consist of seven volumes published in Paris, Parma, Firenze Dipterologiae Italicae prodromus is a fundamental work of systematic entomology by the Italianentomologist...
(1856–1877, six volumes);
Other works see Sabrosky's Family Group Names in Diptera
Sources
- Pape, T. 2002. Name bearing types of Sarcophagidae (Diptera) in Museo Civico di Storia Naturale "Giacomo Doria", Genova, described by C. Rondani, E. Corti and E. Séguy. - Studia dipterologica 9: 343-348.
External links
- Systema Dipterorum Provides complete Camillo Róndani Diptera Bibliography
- Systema Dipterorum Provides complete list of genera and species of Diptera described by Camillo Róndani
- Italian site on Róndani
- BDH Dipterologiae Italicae prodromus Paris Ex Tipographia A. Stocchii,1856-77 7 volumes Digital version
- Cecidomyiidae in the Rondani Collection
- Bishop Museum Bibliography