292
with him both in Paris and Rome.
33 He understands that the sum of 120,000 lire, collected
for the Secchi monument, should be available for the purchase of a telescope for solar
research.
An exchange of letters from March 11, 1909, to February 5, 1910, among Giorgio
Abetti, Annibale Riccò (1844–1919; director of Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania,
founded by Tacchini), the physician Gaetano Tacchini (brother of Pietro), and the
rector of Modena University, shows that they discussed the possibility of using the
Secchi Monument funds to build a solar tower at Reggio or elsewhere, even in
Catania (as proposed by Riccò). Among other things, Gaetano Tacchini proposed to
the Committee that Riccò replace his deceased brother Pietro, in the hope of rousing
an institution that appeared to him to be “asleep” (Cristaldi and Mangano 1997).
Moreover, as he wrote to Riccò on November 4, 1909 (Ivi: 658), soon after the
establishment of the Committee as nonprofit organization, it seemed to him unlikely
that a “Jewish-freemason president,” Ulderico Levi, could lead a project for a monument to a Jesuit. If the project had been entrusted to the Church instead – Gaetano
Tacchini wrote – the Catholic banks of San Prospero at Reggio Emilia and San
Geminiano at Modena and the Jesuits themselves would have certainly contributed
to the expenses. He concluded that “so long as a Jew presides over the Committee,
nothing will be concluded.” Notice that Tacchini’s brother here accused Levi of
being “a Jewish-freemason.” These were the years when the negative myth of
“Jewish-Masonic” conspiracies was spreading throughout Europe. But we have
found no other example of such anti-Semitism in any of the examined documents,
so it is our opinion that this case was just Tacchini’s outburst over the lengthiness of
the project.
The last known letter of this correspondence was written by Hale to Riccò on
February 5, 1910: in it, the idea of moving the still nonexistent Monument from
Reggio to Catania is repeated (Ivi: 659):
It is not possible to induce them (i.e. the Committee) to erect the telescope in Catania, or are
they convinced that it must be in Modena?
Alas, not even Modena was good enough: it had to be in Reggio! In 1914, Gaetano
Tacchini published his letter of October 10, 1913 (Tacchini 1914),
34
where he
recalled the appeal of the International Union for Cooperation in Solar Research
(established in 1905 by Hale) and insisted on building a solar tower 35-m high in
Reggio; his letter provided an estimate and some construction details, enclosing a
beautiful color painting in an eclectic style somewhere between Art Nouveau and
Neo-Baroque (Fig. 17.4).
To make matters worse, the Committee got in touch with Senator Giovanni
Celoria (1842–1920), the successor of Schiaparelli as director of Brera Observatory,
33 Hale was in Paris to inspect the Mount Wilson 2.5 m (100″) telescope works at Saint-Gobain and
in Rome to attend the Meeting of the Executive Committee of the Solar Union (General
Notes 1909).
34 Gaetano Tacchini’s letter is informally addressed “Signore” and by the text one understands that
it is an astronomer, perhaps the same Abetti.
F. Bònoli and A. Mandrino
with him both in Paris and Rome.
33 He understands that the sum of 120,000 lire, collected
for the Secchi monument, should be available for the purchase of a telescope for solar
research.
An exchange of letters from March 11, 1909, to February 5, 1910, among Giorgio
Abetti, Annibale Riccò (1844–1919; director of Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania,
founded by Tacchini), the physician Gaetano Tacchini (brother of Pietro), and the
rector of Modena University, shows that they discussed the possibility of using the
Secchi Monument funds to build a solar tower at Reggio or elsewhere, even in
Catania (as proposed by Riccò). Among other things, Gaetano Tacchini proposed to
the Committee that Riccò replace his deceased brother Pietro, in the hope of rousing
an institution that appeared to him to be “asleep” (Cristaldi and Mangano 1997).
Moreover, as he wrote to Riccò on November 4, 1909 (Ivi: 658), soon after the
establishment of the Committee as nonprofit organization, it seemed to him unlikely
that a “Jewish-freemason president,” Ulderico Levi, could lead a project for a monument to a Jesuit. If the project had been entrusted to the Church instead – Gaetano
Tacchini wrote – the Catholic banks of San Prospero at Reggio Emilia and San
Geminiano at Modena and the Jesuits themselves would have certainly contributed
to the expenses. He concluded that “so long as a Jew presides over the Committee,
nothing will be concluded.” Notice that Tacchini’s brother here accused Levi of
being “a Jewish-freemason.” These were the years when the negative myth of
“Jewish-Masonic” conspiracies was spreading throughout Europe. But we have
found no other example of such anti-Semitism in any of the examined documents,
so it is our opinion that this case was just Tacchini’s outburst over the lengthiness of
the project.
The last known letter of this correspondence was written by Hale to Riccò on
February 5, 1910: in it, the idea of moving the still nonexistent Monument from
Reggio to Catania is repeated (Ivi: 659):
It is not possible to induce them (i.e. the Committee) to erect the telescope in Catania, or are
they convinced that it must be in Modena?
Alas, not even Modena was good enough: it had to be in Reggio! In 1914, Gaetano
Tacchini published his letter of October 10, 1913 (Tacchini 1914),
34
where he
recalled the appeal of the International Union for Cooperation in Solar Research
(established in 1905 by Hale) and insisted on building a solar tower 35-m high in
Reggio; his letter provided an estimate and some construction details, enclosing a
beautiful color painting in an eclectic style somewhere between Art Nouveau and
Neo-Baroque (Fig. 17.4).
To make matters worse, the Committee got in touch with Senator Giovanni
Celoria (1842–1920), the successor of Schiaparelli as director of Brera Observatory,
33 Hale was in Paris to inspect the Mount Wilson 2.5 m (100″) telescope works at Saint-Gobain and
in Rome to attend the Meeting of the Executive Committee of the Solar Union (General
Notes 1909).
34 Gaetano Tacchini’s letter is informally addressed “Signore” and by the text one understands that
it is an astronomer, perhaps the same Abetti.
F. Bònoli and A. Mandrino