The Correspondence between Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli and Quintino Sella

Abstract

 Abstract 

One of the most important correspondence of the Risorgimento and unification period is that exchanged between Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli (1835-1910) and Quintino Sella (1827-1884) not only for scientific and political stature of the two protagonists, but also for the opportunity it offers to discover new aspects and perspectives on histories of mathematics, astronomy, sciences and society. They concern, for example, the Turin and national university context, the cultural policies related to the development of research and improvement of scientific teachings, what kind of organization to prepare for meteorology and what instruments to equip observatories. The correspondence also reveals the ideals and aspirations of the two friends, as well as the difficulties and obstacles that they were able to overcome with determination, tenacity and strong sense of ethics. 

Keywords 

Scientific correspondence, Schiaparelli Giovanni Virginio, Sella Quintino, Turin and Berlin universities, Pulkova observatory