164
based on an original idea by the physicist Edme Hippolyte Marié Davy (1820–1893),
the future head of the International Meteorological Service, at the Paris Observatory.
On February 16, 1855, Le Verrier submitted such a plan to Napoleon III; however,
even though the Emperor granted his approval for its realization, the authorization
by the French Ministry of Navy was a few years late in coming.
9.5.1 The “Telegraphic Meteorological Correspondence”
of the Papal States
Given that the papal territory was bounded by two seas, a rapid exchange of meteorological data from one coast to another was extremely important to prevent possible damage associated with severe weather such as gales and storms. Drawing
inspiration from Le Verrier’s plan and following up on an idea presented to the papal
government by Erasmo Fabbri Scarpellini (active in Rome at the Campidoglio
Observatory), Angelo Secchi organized a coordinated system of synchronous daily
observations to be transmitted by telegraph within the Papal States, aimed at storm
forecasting and warning service. Giuseppe Milesi Pironi Ferretti (1817–1873),
Minister of the Commerce and Public Works, authorized Fabbri Scarpellini’s request
and gave Secchi the task of founding and directing a telegraphic meteorological
exchange, as stated in the ministerial communications dated May 2 and 31, 1855,
February 25, 1856, and other encouragement dispatches (Fabbri Scarpellini 1857).
Pope Pius IX personally financed the enterprise.
And thus on June 20, 1855, the daily exchange by telegraph of weather observations among the observatories in Rome, Ancona, Bologna, and Ferrara (Manzi
1857) began operation. This service, named “Telegraphic Meteorological
Correspondence” (Fig. 9.3), was the first governmental weather service in the world
aimed at formulating storm warnings. Secchi had produced a prototype for modern
meteorological services.
These four meteorological observatories were equipped with standardized instruments, the best available at that time. Observations of barometric pressure, air temperature, atmospheric humidity, wind speed and wind direction, state of the sky, and
precipitation were measured every day at 12 o’clock, and then the four observatories exchanged the synchronous measurements among themselves. The Collegio
Romano Observatory served as the data collection and operations center. There
Secchi elaborated weather forecasts for alerting the arrival of storms and promptly
transmitted them to the other Correspondence stations, where they were reformulated into more accurate local forecasts (Secchi 1855).
Secchi based his forecasts on the nascent science of dynamic meteorology: the
most probable evolution of weather conditions in the Papal States was extrapolated
on the basis of pressure and temperature trends in Europe, mainly derived from the
data acquired by Le Verrier’s international network, which the Collegio Romano
Observatory has joined in 1857 (see below, section 9.5.2). Secchi himself explained
his approach in a book on astronomy in Rome during the reign of Pius IX:
L. Iafrate and M. C. Beltrano
based on an original idea by the physicist Edme Hippolyte Marié Davy (1820–1893),
the future head of the International Meteorological Service, at the Paris Observatory.
On February 16, 1855, Le Verrier submitted such a plan to Napoleon III; however,
even though the Emperor granted his approval for its realization, the authorization
by the French Ministry of Navy was a few years late in coming.
9.5.1 The “Telegraphic Meteorological Correspondence”
of the Papal States
Given that the papal territory was bounded by two seas, a rapid exchange of meteorological data from one coast to another was extremely important to prevent possible damage associated with severe weather such as gales and storms. Drawing
inspiration from Le Verrier’s plan and following up on an idea presented to the papal
government by Erasmo Fabbri Scarpellini (active in Rome at the Campidoglio
Observatory), Angelo Secchi organized a coordinated system of synchronous daily
observations to be transmitted by telegraph within the Papal States, aimed at storm
forecasting and warning service. Giuseppe Milesi Pironi Ferretti (1817–1873),
Minister of the Commerce and Public Works, authorized Fabbri Scarpellini’s request
and gave Secchi the task of founding and directing a telegraphic meteorological
exchange, as stated in the ministerial communications dated May 2 and 31, 1855,
February 25, 1856, and other encouragement dispatches (Fabbri Scarpellini 1857).
Pope Pius IX personally financed the enterprise.
And thus on June 20, 1855, the daily exchange by telegraph of weather observations among the observatories in Rome, Ancona, Bologna, and Ferrara (Manzi
1857) began operation. This service, named “Telegraphic Meteorological
Correspondence” (Fig. 9.3), was the first governmental weather service in the world
aimed at formulating storm warnings. Secchi had produced a prototype for modern
meteorological services.
These four meteorological observatories were equipped with standardized instruments, the best available at that time. Observations of barometric pressure, air temperature, atmospheric humidity, wind speed and wind direction, state of the sky, and
precipitation were measured every day at 12 o’clock, and then the four observatories exchanged the synchronous measurements among themselves. The Collegio
Romano Observatory served as the data collection and operations center. There
Secchi elaborated weather forecasts for alerting the arrival of storms and promptly
transmitted them to the other Correspondence stations, where they were reformulated into more accurate local forecasts (Secchi 1855).
Secchi based his forecasts on the nascent science of dynamic meteorology: the
most probable evolution of weather conditions in the Papal States was extrapolated
on the basis of pressure and temperature trends in Europe, mainly derived from the
data acquired by Le Verrier’s international network, which the Collegio Romano
Observatory has joined in 1857 (see below, section 9.5.2). Secchi himself explained
his approach in a book on astronomy in Rome during the reign of Pius IX:
L. Iafrate and M. C. Beltrano