Ulisse Aldrovandi
Encyclopedia
Ulisse Aldrovandi was an Italian
naturalist
, the moving force behind Bologna
's botanical garden
, one of the first in Europe
. Carolus Linnaeus
and the comte de Buffon
reckoned him the father of natural history
studies. He is usually referred to, especially in older literature, as Aldrovandus; his name in Italian is equally given as Aldroandi.
to a noble family, which sent him to apprentice with merchants, but he found his vocation, after studying humanities
and law
at the universities of Bologna and Padua
and becoming a notary
. Successively his interests extended to philosophy
and logic
which he combined with the study of medicine.
He obtained a degree in medicine and philosophy
in 1553 and started teaching logic
and philosophy in 1554 at the University of Bologna. In 1559 he became professor of philosophy and in 1561 he became the first professor of natural sciences at Bologna (lectura philosophiae naturalis ordinaria de fossil
ibus, plantis et animalibus).
Camillo Renato
. By September he had published an abjuration, but was transferred to Rome, and remained in custody or house arrest till absolved in April 1550. During this time he befriended many local scholars. While in semi-captivity there he became more and more interested in botany
, zoology
and geology
(he is credited for the invention/first written record of this word ). From 1551 onward, he organized a variety of expeditions to the Italian mountains, countryside, islands, and coasts in order to collect and catalogue plants.
In the course of his life he would assemble one of the most spectacular cabinets of curiosities, his "theatre" illuminating natural history
comprising some 7000 specimens of the diversità di cose naturali, of which he wrote a description in 1595. Between 1551 and 1554 he organised several expeditions to collect plants for a herbarium
, among the first botanizing expeditions. Eventually his herbarium contained about 4760 dried specimens on 4117 sheets in sixteen volumes, preserved at the University of Bologna. He also had various artists, including Jacopo Ligozzi
, Giovanni Neri, and Cornelio Schwindt, make illustrations of specimens.
was created in Bologna in 1568, now the Orto Botanico dell'Università di Bologna
. Due to a dispute on the composition of a popular medicine with the pharmacists and doctors of Bologna in 1575 he was suspended from all public position for five years. In 1577 he sought the aid of pope
Gregory XIII (a cousin of his mother) who wrote to the authorities of Bologna to reinstate Aldrovandi in his public offices and request financial aid to help him publish his books.
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...
naturalist
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
, the moving force behind 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,...
's botanical garden
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
, one of the first in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Carolus Linnaeus
Carolus Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...
and the comte de Buffon
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon was a French naturalist, mathematician, cosmologist, and encyclopedic author.His works influenced the next two generations of naturalists, including Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Georges Cuvier...
reckoned him the father of natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
studies. He is usually referred to, especially in older literature, as Aldrovandus; his name in Italian is equally given as Aldroandi.
Early life and education
Aldrovandi was born in BolognaBologna
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,...
to a noble family, which sent him to apprentice with merchants, but he found his vocation, after studying humanities
Humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
and law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
at the universities of Bologna and Padua
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...
and becoming a notary
Civil law notary
Civil-law notaries, or Latin notaries, are lawyers of noncontentious private civil law who draft, take, and record legal instruments for private parties, provide legal advice and give attendance in person, and are vested as public officers with the authentication power of the State...
. Successively his interests extended to philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and logic
Logic
In philosophy, Logic is the formal systematic study of the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activities, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, semantics, and computer science...
which he combined with the study of medicine.
He obtained a degree in medicine and philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
in 1553 and started teaching logic
Logic
In philosophy, Logic is the formal systematic study of the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activities, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, semantics, and computer science...
and philosophy in 1554 at the University of Bologna. In 1559 he became professor of philosophy and in 1561 he became the first professor of natural sciences at Bologna (lectura philosophiae naturalis ordinaria de fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
ibus, plantis et animalibus).
Arrest for heresy
In June of 1549 he was accused and arrested for heresy, for espousing the anti-trinitarian beliefs of the AnabaptistAnabaptist
Anabaptists are Protestant Christians of the Radical Reformation of 16th-century Europe, and their direct descendants, particularly the Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites....
Camillo Renato
Camillo Renato
Paolo Ricci was a former Franciscan, then Anabaptist and Antitrinitarian. He also adopted an academic pseudeonym Lisia Fileno , Fileno Lunardi, and finally the baptismal name Camillo Renato.-Paolo Lysias Philaenus Ricci:He was born Paolo Ricci and became a Franciscan...
. By September he had published an abjuration, but was transferred to Rome, and remained in custody or house arrest till absolved in April 1550. During this time he befriended many local scholars. While in semi-captivity there he became more and more interested in 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...
, 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...
and geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
(he is credited for the invention/first written record of this word ). From 1551 onward, he organized a variety of expeditions to the Italian mountains, countryside, islands, and coasts in order to collect and catalogue plants.
Natural history work
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
comprising some 7000 specimens of the diversità di cose naturali, of which he wrote a description in 1595. Between 1551 and 1554 he organised several expeditions to collect plants for 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...
, among the first botanizing expeditions. Eventually his herbarium contained about 4760 dried specimens on 4117 sheets in sixteen volumes, preserved at the University of Bologna. He also had various artists, including Jacopo Ligozzi
Jacopo Ligozzi
Jacopo Ligozzi was an Italian painter, illustrator, designer, and miniaturist of the late Renaissance and early Mannerist styles.-Biography:...
, Giovanni Neri, and Cornelio Schwindt, make illustrations of specimens.
Botanic garden
At his demand and under his direction a public botanic gardenBotanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
was created in Bologna in 1568, now the Orto Botanico dell'Università di Bologna
Orto Botanico dell'Università di Bologna
The Orto Botanico dell'Università di Bologna, also known as the Orto Botanico di Bologna, is a botanical garden operated by the University of Bologna. It is located at Via Irnerio, 42, 40126 Bologna, Italy, and open daily except Sundays....
. Due to a dispute on the composition of a popular medicine with the pharmacists and doctors of Bologna in 1575 he was suspended from all public position for five years. In 1577 he sought the aid of pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
Gregory XIII (a cousin of his mother) who wrote to the authorities of Bologna to reinstate Aldrovandi in his public offices and request financial aid to help him publish his books.
Collections
His vast collections in botany and zoology he willed to the Senate of Bologna; until 1742 the collections were conserved in the Palazzo Pubblico, then in the Palazzo Poggi, but were distributed among various libraries and institutions in the course of the nineteenth century. In 1907 a representative part were reunited at Palazzo Poggi, Bologna, where the 400th anniversary of his death was memorialized in a celebrative exhibition in 2005.List of works
Of the several hundred books and essays he wrote, only a handful were published during his lifetime:- Antidotarii Bononiensis, siue de vsitata ratione componendorum, miscendorumque medicamentorum, epitome (1574) http://amshistorica.cib.unibo.it/diglib.php?inv=128
- Ornithologiae, hoc est de avibus historia (Bologna, 1599) http://amshistorica.cib.unibo.it/diglib.php?inv=26 1637 edition
- Ornithologiae tomus alter cum indice copiosissimo (Bologna, 1600) http://amshistorica.cib.unibo.it/diglib.php?inv=33 http://gdz.sub.uni-goettingen.de/no_cache/dms/load/toc/?IDDOC=234603
- De animalibus insectis libri septem, cum singulorum iconibus ad viuum expressis (Bologna, 1602) http://amshistorica.cib.unibo.it/diglib.php?inv=31 1637 edition
- Ornithologiae tomus tertius, ac postremus (Bologna, 1603) http://amshistorica.cib.unibo.it/diglib.php?inv=34 1637 edition
- De reliquis animalibus exanguibus libri quatuor (Bologna, 1606) http://amshistorica.cib.unibo.it/diglib.php?inv=18
- De piscibus libri V, et De cetis lib. vnus (Bologna, 1613) http://amshistorica.cib.unibo.it/diglib.php?inv=17
- Quadrupedum omnium bisulcorum historia (Bologna, 1621) http://amshistorica.cib.unibo.it/diglib.php?inv=129
- Serpentum, et draconum (Bologna, 1640) (Natural History of Snakes and Dragons) http://amshistorica.cib.unibo.it/diglib.php?inv=126
- Monstrorum historia cum Paralipomenis historiae omnium animalium (Bologna, 1642) http://amshistorica.cib.unibo.it/diglib.php?inv=127
- Musaeum metallicum in libros IV distributum Bartholomaeus Ambrosinus (Bologna, 1648) http://amshistorica.cib.unibo.it/diglib.php?inv=133
- Dendrologiae naturalis scilicet arborum historiae libri duo sylua glandaria, acinosumq (Bologna, 1667) http://amshistorica.cib.unibo.it/diglib.php?inv=24.
Honors
- The wrinkle ridge Dorsa AldrovandiDorsa AldrovandiDorsa Aldrovandi is a wrinkle ridge system at in Mare Serenitatis on the Moon. It is about 136 km in diameter and was named named after Ulissi Aldrovandi in 1976....
on the MoonMoonThe Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
is named after him. - The Civico Orto Botanico "Ulisse Aldrovandi" in San Giovanni in PersicetoSan Giovanni in PersicetoSan Giovanni in Persiceto is a town and comune in the province of Bologna, northern Italy.-History until 1790s:The most ancestral records claim the town was first populated by Gauls, but later occupied by the Romans. The area appears to have been depopulated after the fall of the Roman Empire...
is named in his honor. - The plant genus AldrovandaAldrovandaAldrovanda is a genus of carnivorous plants encompassing one extant species and numerous extinct taxa. The genus is named in honor of the Italian naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi, the founder of the Botanical Garden of Bologna, Orto Botanico dell'Università di Bologna.The extinct species are known...
is named after him.