343
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
I. Chinnici, G. Consolmagno (eds.), Angelo Secchi and Nineteenth Century Science,
Historical & Cultural Astronomy, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58384-2_20
Chapter 20
Secchi’s Diffuse Correspondence in Italian
Archives
Antonella Gasperini and Mauro Gargano
20.1 The Main Documentary Archives
The study of Angelo Secchi’s papers is an exercise that can both excite and confuse
or even dismay the occasional researcher. The multifaceted nature of his scientific
interests, his passionate participation in the political events of his time, and the wide
range of his correspondence not surprisingly have produced a vast array of documentary material which is presently stored in a wide range of locations.
It is not an exaggeration to say that evidence of Angelo Secchi’s tireless activity
can be found throughout Italy, from Moncalieri to Palermo. Two institutions in particular, however, contain the major fraction of the archived material: the Pontifical
Gregorian University and the Astronomical Observatory of Rome.
A study by Ileana Chinnici and Wiktor Gramatowski, published in the journal
Nuncius in 2001 (Chinnici and Gramatowski 2001), has analyzed the Secchi archive
stored at the Pontifical Gregorian University (PUG). Here, researchers can find writings (astronomy lessons, lectures, scientific memoirs, draft publications, etc.), correspondence with his Jesuit brothers, travel diaries, and scientific correspondence
representing a corpus of about 7000 letters received by more than 1500 correspondents. In 2017 the creation of the GATE web platform (Mancini and Morales, Chap.
21, in this volume) was a major development in the program to enhance PUG’s
historical archives, including the Secchi collections; this aims to carry out a complete digital transcription of the texts and annotations.
A. Gasperini (*)
INAF Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory, Florence, Italy
e-mail: antonella.gasperini@inaf.it
M. Gargano
INAF Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte, Naples, Italy
e-mail: mauro.gargano@inaf.it
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
I. Chinnici, G. Consolmagno (eds.), Angelo Secchi and Nineteenth Century Science,
Historical & Cultural Astronomy, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58384-2_20
Chapter 20
Secchi’s Diffuse Correspondence in Italian
Archives
Antonella Gasperini and Mauro Gargano
20.1 The Main Documentary Archives
The study of Angelo Secchi’s papers is an exercise that can both excite and confuse
or even dismay the occasional researcher. The multifaceted nature of his scientific
interests, his passionate participation in the political events of his time, and the wide
range of his correspondence not surprisingly have produced a vast array of documentary material which is presently stored in a wide range of locations.
It is not an exaggeration to say that evidence of Angelo Secchi’s tireless activity
can be found throughout Italy, from Moncalieri to Palermo. Two institutions in particular, however, contain the major fraction of the archived material: the Pontifical
Gregorian University and the Astronomical Observatory of Rome.
A study by Ileana Chinnici and Wiktor Gramatowski, published in the journal
Nuncius in 2001 (Chinnici and Gramatowski 2001), has analyzed the Secchi archive
stored at the Pontifical Gregorian University (PUG). Here, researchers can find writings (astronomy lessons, lectures, scientific memoirs, draft publications, etc.), correspondence with his Jesuit brothers, travel diaries, and scientific correspondence
representing a corpus of about 7000 letters received by more than 1500 correspondents. In 2017 the creation of the GATE web platform (Mancini and Morales, Chap.
21, in this volume) was a major development in the program to enhance PUG’s
historical archives, including the Secchi collections; this aims to carry out a complete digital transcription of the texts and annotations.
A. Gasperini (*)
INAF Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory, Florence, Italy
e-mail: antonella.gasperini@inaf.it
M. Gargano
INAF Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte, Naples, Italy
e-mail: mauro.gargano@inaf.it