Maria Pettracini
Encyclopedia
Maria Magdalena Petraccini, or Pettracini (Florence, Tuscany, 1759 - Bagnacavallo, Ravenna, 1791), Italian anatomist and physician
, professor
of anatomy.
Pettracini was born in a merchant family in Tuscany, and moved to Emilia Romagna with her spouse, Francesco Ferretti who was a surgent at the hospital of Bagnacavallo. She was tutored in surgery by her spouse, before she became a student in medicin at the University of Florence
13 September 1788. She continued her education at the University of Ferrara
.
Maria and her daughter, Zaffira Peretti, were teachers in anatomy at the University of Ferrara
. The universities of Salerno
and then Bologna
were centers of medical education in Italy and known as the locations where most female anatomists and physicians were active. The careers of Pettracini and her daughter indicate that Ferrara also encouraged women as students and teachers.
Pettracini published books about the care of infants and women in childbirth (1789). She protested against the current bandaging of infants, which she claimed could lead to injuries, proclaimed that infats should be allowed to move their limbs rather than be bandaged. She advocated breast feeding, but also that children should be used to feed on other things than milk as soon as possible. Though Maria Pettracini died in 1791 and was not able to teach for many years, her ideas was much talked about and attracted as lot of attention.
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of anatomy.
Pettracini was born in a merchant family in Tuscany, and moved to Emilia Romagna with her spouse, Francesco Ferretti who was a surgent at the hospital of Bagnacavallo. She was tutored in surgery by her spouse, before she became a student in medicin at the University of Florence
University of Florence
The University of Florence is a higher study institute in Florence, central Italy. One of the largest and oldest universities in the country, it consists of 12 faculties...
13 September 1788. She continued her education at the University of Ferrara
University of Ferrara
The University of Ferrara is the main university of the city of Ferrara in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. In the years prior to the First World War the University of Ferrara, with more than 500 students, was the best attended of the free universities in Italy...
.
Maria and her daughter, Zaffira Peretti, were teachers in anatomy at the University of Ferrara
University of Ferrara
The University of Ferrara is the main university of the city of Ferrara in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. In the years prior to the First World War the University of Ferrara, with more than 500 students, was the best attended of the free universities in Italy...
. The universities of Salerno
Salerno
Salerno is a city and comune in Campania and is the capital of the province of the same name. It is located on the Gulf of Salerno on the Tyrrhenian Sea....
and then Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
were centers of medical education in Italy and known as the locations where most female anatomists and physicians were active. The careers of Pettracini and her daughter indicate that Ferrara also encouraged women as students and teachers.
Pettracini published books about the care of infants and women in childbirth (1789). She protested against the current bandaging of infants, which she claimed could lead to injuries, proclaimed that infats should be allowed to move their limbs rather than be bandaged. She advocated breast feeding, but also that children should be used to feed on other things than milk as soon as possible. Though Maria Pettracini died in 1791 and was not able to teach for many years, her ideas was much talked about and attracted as lot of attention.
Litterature
- The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: Pioneering Lives from Ancient Times to the Mid-20th Century, Volume 2.