Luigi Benoit was an Italian

Italian people

The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...

 naturalist

Naturalist

Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...

.

Luigi Benoit studied at the military school "Nunziatella di Napoli" in Naples

Naples

Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

 then began his career in the
Agenzia delle Dogane

Customs

Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, transports, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country...

 in Messina where he married the Duchessa of Belviso. In 1828 he was arrested and condemned to 18 years of imprisonment in Palermo for supporting political reform. When Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies

Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies

Ferdinand II was King of the Two Sicilies from 1830 until his death.-Family:Ferdinand was born in Palermo, the son of King Francis I of the Two Sicilies and his wife and first cousin Maria Isabella of Spain.His paternal grandparents were King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and Queen Marie...

 changed the political direction he was released in 1832 and made "Amministratore del Gran Priorato Gerosomilitano di Messina".
Luigi Benoit was dedicated to the study of the ornithology

Ornithology

Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds...

 and conchology

Conchology

Conchology is the scientific or amateur study of mollusc shells. Conchology is one aspect of malacology, the study of molluscs, however malacology studies molluscs as whole organisms, not just their shells. Conchology pre-dated malacology as a field of study. It includes the study of land and...

 of Sicily

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,...

.In 1840 he published Ornitologia Siciliana Sicilian Ornithology. He was also interested in marine biology.Luigi Benoit was a friend and correspondent of the Antonio Schembri

Antonio Schembri (ornithologist)

Antonio Schembri Antonio Schembri Antonio Schembri (April 1813, Valletta- December 1872 was an Italian ornithologist.Antonio Schembri was a shipping agent. He wrote, in Italian, Catalogo Ornitologico del Gruppo di Malta (1843) which is the first scientific checklist of the birds of Malta and also ...

.

He is honoured in the fish name Hygophum benoiti (Cocco

Anastasio Cocco

Anastacio Cocco sometimes Anastasio - 26 February 1854, Messina) was an Italian naturalist who specialised in marine biology....

, 1838) and in the mollusc name Latiaxis benoiti Tiberi, 1855.

External links

• BHL Digital text of Ornitologia Siciliana