6
“New Observatory” was erected following the design of the architect Angelo
Vescovali (1826–1895) (Lay 2012).
At the same time, the Observatory obtained a Merz achromatic refractor telescope with an aperture of 24 cm, one of the highest quality instruments of its time.
The Collegio Romano, equipped with the Merz and Cauchoix telescopes and an
Ertel meridian circle, soon became one of the first astrophysical observatories
in Europe.
Secchi also promoted the construction of the geomagnetic observatory, and gave
new impetus to meteorological observations through the development of his
Meteorograph, a complex electromechanical machine which was the world’s first
automatic weather station (as discussed in Chap. 10). The new Collegio Romano
Observatory (Fig. 1.1) was therefore configured as a state-of-the-art scientific complex consisting of three distinct structures: the astrophysical observatory, the geomagnetic observatory, and the meteorological observatory.
This work was part of a larger movement in the development of physical astronomy in Europe. At the Astronomical Observatory of Palermo, Pietro Tacchini maintained a strong collaboration with Secchi; and Lorenzo Respighi, who directed the
Campidoglio Observatory Astronomical in Rome, was a contemporary of Secchi.
But it is worth noting that their activity in Italy began more than 10 years before
other places took their part in the birth of European astrophysics: the South
Kensington Solar Physics Observatory was founded by J.N. Lockyer only in 1875,
while the Observatoire de Meudon was established by P.J.C. Janssen in 1876.
Following the annexation of Rome into the newly unified Italy, the Collegio
Romano was expropriated by the state in 1873. However, thanks to his great international scientific prestige, Secchi arranged that the observatory remained under his
direction (Chinnici 2008). After his death in 1879, the complex finally passed to the
Italian state, under the direction of Pietro Tacchini. In 1879, the Central Bureau of
Meteorology was established and the astronomical observatory was annexed as one
of the structures of this new body. The Meteorological Observatory is presented in
more detail in Chap. 9.
In 1923, the astronomical observatory was merged with the university observatory of Campidoglio and was later permanently dismantled. In 1938, the new Rome
Astronomical Observatory was founded and all instruments were transferred to the
headquarters at Monte Mario.
The Astronomical Observatory in Rome based in Monte Porzio Catone, now a
part of the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), was established by
Giuseppe Armellini (1887–1958), who became its first director. He died in 1958,
soon after a devastating fire in the main dome where the Roman College’s Merz
refractor had been installed, and which was thus lost. More details about Secchi’s
legacy to Italian astronomy and astrophysics are found in Chaps. 18 and 19; readers
who want to delve into the history of places of Roman astronomy from antiquity to
the present day can also consult Buonanno’s essay (2007), Il cielo sopra Roma.
Figure 1.2 shows the domes of the Observatory as they appeared in the early
1900s; at the bottom near the cross, one can see a rod with the ball that was dropped
to indicate to a gunner at Castel Sant’Angelo to give the noon signal by firing a
A. Altamore et al.
“New Observatory” was erected following the design of the architect Angelo
Vescovali (1826–1895) (Lay 2012).
At the same time, the Observatory obtained a Merz achromatic refractor telescope with an aperture of 24 cm, one of the highest quality instruments of its time.
The Collegio Romano, equipped with the Merz and Cauchoix telescopes and an
Ertel meridian circle, soon became one of the first astrophysical observatories
in Europe.
Secchi also promoted the construction of the geomagnetic observatory, and gave
new impetus to meteorological observations through the development of his
Meteorograph, a complex electromechanical machine which was the world’s first
automatic weather station (as discussed in Chap. 10). The new Collegio Romano
Observatory (Fig. 1.1) was therefore configured as a state-of-the-art scientific complex consisting of three distinct structures: the astrophysical observatory, the geomagnetic observatory, and the meteorological observatory.
This work was part of a larger movement in the development of physical astronomy in Europe. At the Astronomical Observatory of Palermo, Pietro Tacchini maintained a strong collaboration with Secchi; and Lorenzo Respighi, who directed the
Campidoglio Observatory Astronomical in Rome, was a contemporary of Secchi.
But it is worth noting that their activity in Italy began more than 10 years before
other places took their part in the birth of European astrophysics: the South
Kensington Solar Physics Observatory was founded by J.N. Lockyer only in 1875,
while the Observatoire de Meudon was established by P.J.C. Janssen in 1876.
Following the annexation of Rome into the newly unified Italy, the Collegio
Romano was expropriated by the state in 1873. However, thanks to his great international scientific prestige, Secchi arranged that the observatory remained under his
direction (Chinnici 2008). After his death in 1879, the complex finally passed to the
Italian state, under the direction of Pietro Tacchini. In 1879, the Central Bureau of
Meteorology was established and the astronomical observatory was annexed as one
of the structures of this new body. The Meteorological Observatory is presented in
more detail in Chap. 9.
In 1923, the astronomical observatory was merged with the university observatory of Campidoglio and was later permanently dismantled. In 1938, the new Rome
Astronomical Observatory was founded and all instruments were transferred to the
headquarters at Monte Mario.
The Astronomical Observatory in Rome based in Monte Porzio Catone, now a
part of the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), was established by
Giuseppe Armellini (1887–1958), who became its first director. He died in 1958,
soon after a devastating fire in the main dome where the Roman College’s Merz
refractor had been installed, and which was thus lost. More details about Secchi’s
legacy to Italian astronomy and astrophysics are found in Chaps. 18 and 19; readers
who want to delve into the history of places of Roman astronomy from antiquity to
the present day can also consult Buonanno’s essay (2007), Il cielo sopra Roma.
Figure 1.2 shows the domes of the Observatory as they appeared in the early
1900s; at the bottom near the cross, one can see a rod with the ball that was dropped
to indicate to a gunner at Castel Sant’Angelo to give the noon signal by firing a
A. Altamore et al.