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She worked for thirty years at the Central Weather Office in Rome (the first national
Italian weather service, established in 1876), which recently merged into the
Research Centre for Agriculture and Environment (CREA-AA). She was responsible for the Historical Meteorological Network, the Meteorological Observatory of
the Collegio Romano, and the Meteorological Archive, as well as for the Geophysical
Instruments Collection. She was also a scientific referent for the CREA Historical
Weather Library.
She coordinated some projects aimed at enhancing the instrumental, archival, and
librarian heritage, presenting their results in various conferences, both national and
international. She is the author of articles, chapters of books, and monographs
related to the historical-scientific heritage of the office: the instrumental collection,
the weather data archive, the historical library. She is the coauthor of the Atlante
italiano del clima e dei cambiamenti climatici (Rome, 2015).
Simone Bianchi Research astronomer
INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Arcetri, Florence, Italy
His research interests lie in observational and theoretical studies of dust extinction
and emission in spiral galaxies and the Milky Way, and in theoretical studies of the
formation and survival of dust grains. He is also interested in the early history of the
Arcetri Observatory and its astronomers, with a particular focus on Wilhelm Tempel.
Fabrizio Bònoli Professor of History of Astronomy (retired)
Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, Italy
After teaching History of Astronomy at the University of Bologna, he is currently
Contract Professor in charge of the “History of cosmology” course at the Master’s
Degree in Astrophysics and Cosmology; he is editor-in-chief of “Giornale di
Astronomia,” past vice-president of the Italian Astronomical Society and author of
many publications in astrophysics and history of astronomy.
Paolo Brenni Researcher
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (IGG), Florence, Italy
Paolo Brenni (b. 1954) graduated in experimental physics in 1981 at the University
of Zürich. He then specialized in the history of scientific instruments and of their
trade. He is researcher at the Italian National Research Council in Florence and collaborates with the Museo Galileo and other museums and institutions both in Italy
and abroad. He catalogued, reorganized, and restored several collections of instruments; and he is author of many articles. He is president of the Scientific Instrument
Society.
About the Contributors
She worked for thirty years at the Central Weather Office in Rome (the first national
Italian weather service, established in 1876), which recently merged into the
Research Centre for Agriculture and Environment (CREA-AA). She was responsible for the Historical Meteorological Network, the Meteorological Observatory of
the Collegio Romano, and the Meteorological Archive, as well as for the Geophysical
Instruments Collection. She was also a scientific referent for the CREA Historical
Weather Library.
She coordinated some projects aimed at enhancing the instrumental, archival, and
librarian heritage, presenting their results in various conferences, both national and
international. She is the author of articles, chapters of books, and monographs
related to the historical-scientific heritage of the office: the instrumental collection,
the weather data archive, the historical library. She is the coauthor of the Atlante
italiano del clima e dei cambiamenti climatici (Rome, 2015).
Simone Bianchi Research astronomer
INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Arcetri, Florence, Italy
His research interests lie in observational and theoretical studies of dust extinction
and emission in spiral galaxies and the Milky Way, and in theoretical studies of the
formation and survival of dust grains. He is also interested in the early history of the
Arcetri Observatory and its astronomers, with a particular focus on Wilhelm Tempel.
Fabrizio Bònoli Professor of History of Astronomy (retired)
Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, Italy
After teaching History of Astronomy at the University of Bologna, he is currently
Contract Professor in charge of the “History of cosmology” course at the Master’s
Degree in Astrophysics and Cosmology; he is editor-in-chief of “Giornale di
Astronomia,” past vice-president of the Italian Astronomical Society and author of
many publications in astrophysics and history of astronomy.
Paolo Brenni Researcher
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (IGG), Florence, Italy
Paolo Brenni (b. 1954) graduated in experimental physics in 1981 at the University
of Zürich. He then specialized in the history of scientific instruments and of their
trade. He is researcher at the Italian National Research Council in Florence and collaborates with the Museo Galileo and other museums and institutions both in Italy
and abroad. He catalogued, reorganized, and restored several collections of instruments; and he is author of many articles. He is president of the Scientific Instrument
Society.
About the Contributors