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Pré-Publication, Document De Travail Année : 2003

The Italian Geological Survey: the Early History of a Divided Community

Résumé

The historiography of science, and particularly of geology as well as the historiography concerned with the early formation of the Italian State, have paid scant if any attention to the complex history of the Italian geological survey. Indeed, great uncertainty still prevails as to the origin and source of the project to provide the new Italian State, formally constituted as “Regno d'Italia” on January 1st, 1861, with a geological map. There is an excellent, ground-breaking biography of Quintino Sella (1827-1884), the wealthy Piedemontese scientist turned politician who was one of the major actors in the early history of the survey. However, it mentions only in passing Sella's involvement in the rapid succession of events, starting in July 1861, that led to the Royal decree on December 12th of the same year, officially launching the enterprise of the geological map of the country (Quazza 1992, p. 356). An outstanding authority on geological matters, David Oldroyd, gives 1877 as the date for the beginning of operations (Oldroyd 1996). Conversely, the official website of the Servizio Geologico, the successor of nineteenth-century State surveying agencies, indicates 1867 (Carusone 1996; Topley 1885). As I shall argue below, this is only partially correct. Documents have recently emerged after decades of neglect; some photocopies made during the 1990s at the historic building of the Geological Survey in Rome (now under renovation) have proven crucial after the apparent disappearance of their originals in the early 2000.
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Dates et versions

halshs-00002891 , version 1 (20-09-2004)
halshs-00002891 , version 2 (29-05-2006)

Identifiants

  • HAL Id : halshs-00002891 , version 2

Citer

Pietro Corsi. The Italian Geological Survey: the Early History of a Divided Community: dans G.B. Vai et W.Cavazza, ed, Four centuries of the word ‘Geology', Ulisse Aldrovandi 1603 in Bologna,
Minerva Edizioni, Bologna, septembre 2003, p.255-279.. 2003. ⟨halshs-00002891v2⟩
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