The representation of the sky: cultural evolution and scientific development / La raffigurazione del cielo: evoluzione culturale e sviluppo scientifico

Saggio introduttivo per il catalogo Cosmic Pages, che presenta 12 preziosi atlanti stellari conservati negli Osservatori INA

L'affermazione selenografica di Giovan Battista Riccioli, tra nomenclature celesti e cartografie planetarie

Since ancient times, the stars visible to the naked eye were grouped into constellations. The constellations and the planets, moving among them, received a name to be distinguished. This nomenclature was then consolidated among peoples and over the centuries. When Galileo Galilei turned his telescope to the sky in the fall of 1609, it became immediately clear that celestial objects were more numerous and complex than could ever have been expected, and that new names and new maps would soon be needed. The Moon was the first celestial body that revealed its complex nature. Many 17th century astronomers devoted themselves to selenography, such as Michel Florent van Langren (1600-1675) or Johannes Hevelius (1611- 1687), who developed their own nomenclature. However, the one proposed by Giovanni Battista Riccioli (1598-1671) in the Almagestum novum proved successful compared to the others. He associated the various lunar spots with the names of famous astronomers and savants of ancient and contemporary times. In 1932 the International Astronomical Union chose Riccioli’s hypothesis as the starting point for the modern nomenclature of the Moon

Italian Astronomers in the IAU: the contribution and role of Italian astronomers from the foundation to the Second World War

Even though Italy officially joined the IAU in 1921, Italian astronomers were involved in its birth as early as 1919, when Annibale Riccò, Director of the Astrophysical Observatory of Catania, proposed to the IAU Committee to hold its first General Assembly in Rome. This contribution will analyze the role played by Italian astronomers in the development of the IAU from its foundation to the Second World War. The recent project of reordering of the astronomical historical archives in Italy permits for the first time a more in-depth study of the relations between Italian astronomers and the international scientific community

La fondazione della Società Astronomica Italiana e il contributo dell’Italia alla creazione dell’Unione Astronomica Internazionale

L'articolo traccia gli eventi che hanno portato alla nascita della Società Astronomica Italiana e i contributi apportati dalla comunità astronomica italiana alla fondazione dell'Unione Astronomica Internazionale (IAU

Old documents, new technologies: the preservation and valorization of the Italian astronomical archives

The historical archives of the Italian astronomical Observatories are a source of incredible treasures. They contain records of observations, sketches of astronomical objects (nebulae, comets, and planets), letters, diaries, journey logbooks, meteorological data, maps, astronomical calculations, etc. Over 3 million documents, 122 series containing the funds of various astronomers are preserved in 12 historical archives. Rearranging these records is a long and hard task comparable to solving a puzzle not knowing how the finished picture will turn out, but we certainly know that the reorganization will constitute a fundamental resource for the study of the history of astronomy. The web portal “Polvere di stelle [Stardust]: the cultural heritage of Italian astronomy” (www.beniculturali.inaf.it) contains a specific section dedicated to the historical archives. It provides a brief description of each archive and the possibility to consult the tree structure of the inventories and to make a search in all database fields. In 2018, a digitization project of selected archival documents began. The 18th century meteorological registers from Padua and the solar observations made by Pietro Tacchini and Angelo Secchi in 19th century are now available on “Polvere di stelle”. This contribution will show benefits and problems encountered in dealing this particular aspect of preservation and valorization of the astronomical heritage

SAIt e IAU. La dimensione internazionale dell’Astronomia italiana

Gli astronomi italiani furono coinvolti nella nascita dell'Unione Astronomica Internazionale fin dal 1919, quando Annibale Riccò, Direttore dell'Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania, propose di tenere la prima General Assembly a Roma. L'adesione ufficiale dell'Italia alla IAU portò alla contemporanea nascita della Società Astronomica Italiana, che seguì allo scioglimento della Società degli Spettroscopisti Italiani

Manuale per la compilazioni delle schede PST di SICAP

Le schede PST (Patrimonio Scientifico e Tecnologico) sono uno strumento fondamentale per catalogare e preservare il patrimonio storico-scientifico italiano. Originariamente, questo patrimonio veniva incluso in categorie di tutela archeologica e storico-artistica, ma con l'evoluzione del concetto di bene culturale, è stato necessario sviluppare normative specializzate e strumenti appositi come le schede PST. Queste schede, progettate in collaborazione con istituzioni come l'ICCD e rappresentative di discipline scientifiche specifiche, consentono di catalogare una vasta gamma di oggetti legati alla storia della scienza, della tecnologia e dell'industria. Oltre a essere strumenti amministrativi, le schede PST svolgono un ruolo cruciale nella tutela e gestione del patrimonio scientifico, fornendo dettagli su conservazione, provenienza, interventi di restauro e altro ancora. Sono inoltre fondamentali per la ricerca, la creazione di cataloghi e la produzione di materiale multimediale, contribuendo così a valorizzare e promuovere le collezioni scientifiche a livello locale e internazionale. Il seguente documento si propone di fornire delle linee guida per la compilazione delle schede PST su SICAP al fine di standardizzare il processo di catalogazione e garantire un'adeguata documentazione del patrimonio scientifico e tecnologico custodito dalle istituzioni

The AstroBID: preserving and sharing the Italian astronomical heritage

The cultural heritage of the National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), made of rare and modern Books, Instruments and archival Documents, the AstroBID, marks the milestones in the history of astronomy in Italy. INAF, in collaboration with the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Bologna, has developed a project to preserve, digitize, and valorize its patrimony by creating a web portal Polvere di Stelle. It shows the cultural heritage of 12 libraries and historical archives, and 13 instrument collections, and allows both academics and a wider audience to search simultaneously the AstroBID materials

Pleurotus nebrodensis (Basidiomycota), a rare endemic mushroom of Sicily: current and future issues

This paper deals with the basidiomycete Pleurotus nebrodensis, one of the rare examples of endemic fungi in Italy and Europe. After clarifying the taxonomy of this taxon, including a comparison with a species from China misidentified as “Pleurotus nebrodensis”, we describe the characteristics of its natural habitat, and provide a new morphological description and information on its pilot-scale cultivation, current conservation status according to IUCN criteria and conservation strategies. New ITS region sequences were deposited in GenBank. Furthermore, the antibacterial and anti-cancer properties of P. nebrodensis are mentioned, making it a potential medicinal mushroom. Finally, a critical analysis, on a phylogenetic basis, of the Italian production of substrates inoculated with “P. nebrodensis” strains is also included