21
Figure 1.13 shows the drawings of the Secchi Meteorograph, which was produced by the firm of Emilio and Ermanno Brassart. Today the instrument is on display at INAF-OAR headquarters at Monte Porzio Catone. Later, simpler and cheaper
versions were put on the market and purchased by several institutions around the
world, but at present this seems to be the only surviving machine (Udias 2012).
Secchi’s meteorological observatory is described in detail in Chap. 9.
The famous “Secchi disk” and its use in limnology is described in Chap. 13.
Secchi’s involvement in nineteenth century advances in timekeeping are outlined in
Chap. 15. And his larger ideas on the unity of physical forces are described in
Chap. 11.
1.7 Concluding Remarks
Clearly, Secchi’s Observatory at the Collegio Romano was an extraordinary structure. It served as a home for interdisciplinary studies including astronomy and astrophysics, geophysics and geomagnetism, Sun–Earth Relationships, meteorology,
and even applied sciences such as geodesy and cartography (Chap. 12), and several
other technical activities that today we would classify as emergency management
and civil protection (Chap. 16).
Today this structure stands in urgent need of conservation, a restoration that not
only would safeguard a unique place in the history of science but would also allow
it to be visited by students and the general public, just as Prandi (1943) had hoped
almost 80 years ago. Indeed, based on the initiative of the Ministry of Cultural and
Environmental Heritage, it may be that this hope is on the verge of being realized by
the Special Superintendent of Archaeology, Fine Arts, and Landscape of Rome.
Chaps. 17-19 describe the past attempts at honoring Secchi’s legacy, while the final
section of this book, Chaps. 20-21, note resources that are now available to carry
this forward.
Acknowledgments The authors thank Antonio Coretti of the Vatican Specola for support in the
preparation of the figures. Translated from the original Italian by Guy Consolmagno S. J.
References
Altamore, A., & Maffeo, S. (Eds.). (2012). Angelo Secchi, L’avventura scientifica del Collegio
Romano, Quater, Foligno.
Abetti, G. (1960). Astronomical Society of the Pacific Leaflets, 8(368), 135.
Aebischer, T., In Altamore and Maffeo (2012), 227.
Brenni, P, Nuncius (1993) n. 8, 197.
Buonanno, R. (2007). Il cielo sopra Roma. I luoghi dell’astronomia. Springer.
Chinnici, I. (2008). The Società degli Spettroscopisti Italiani: birth and evolution. Annals of
Science, 65(3), 393.
1 An Introduction to Angelo Secchi and his Collegio Romano Observatory
Figure 1.13 shows the drawings of the Secchi Meteorograph, which was produced by the firm of Emilio and Ermanno Brassart. Today the instrument is on display at INAF-OAR headquarters at Monte Porzio Catone. Later, simpler and cheaper
versions were put on the market and purchased by several institutions around the
world, but at present this seems to be the only surviving machine (Udias 2012).
Secchi’s meteorological observatory is described in detail in Chap. 9.
The famous “Secchi disk” and its use in limnology is described in Chap. 13.
Secchi’s involvement in nineteenth century advances in timekeeping are outlined in
Chap. 15. And his larger ideas on the unity of physical forces are described in
Chap. 11.
1.7 Concluding Remarks
Clearly, Secchi’s Observatory at the Collegio Romano was an extraordinary structure. It served as a home for interdisciplinary studies including astronomy and astrophysics, geophysics and geomagnetism, Sun–Earth Relationships, meteorology,
and even applied sciences such as geodesy and cartography (Chap. 12), and several
other technical activities that today we would classify as emergency management
and civil protection (Chap. 16).
Today this structure stands in urgent need of conservation, a restoration that not
only would safeguard a unique place in the history of science but would also allow
it to be visited by students and the general public, just as Prandi (1943) had hoped
almost 80 years ago. Indeed, based on the initiative of the Ministry of Cultural and
Environmental Heritage, it may be that this hope is on the verge of being realized by
the Special Superintendent of Archaeology, Fine Arts, and Landscape of Rome.
Chaps. 17-19 describe the past attempts at honoring Secchi’s legacy, while the final
section of this book, Chaps. 20-21, note resources that are now available to carry
this forward.
Acknowledgments The authors thank Antonio Coretti of the Vatican Specola for support in the
preparation of the figures. Translated from the original Italian by Guy Consolmagno S. J.
References
Altamore, A., & Maffeo, S. (Eds.). (2012). Angelo Secchi, L’avventura scientifica del Collegio
Romano, Quater, Foligno.
Abetti, G. (1960). Astronomical Society of the Pacific Leaflets, 8(368), 135.
Aebischer, T., In Altamore and Maffeo (2012), 227.
Brenni, P, Nuncius (1993) n. 8, 197.
Buonanno, R. (2007). Il cielo sopra Roma. I luoghi dell’astronomia. Springer.
Chinnici, I. (2008). The Società degli Spettroscopisti Italiani: birth and evolution. Annals of
Science, 65(3), 393.
1 An Introduction to Angelo Secchi and his Collegio Romano Observatory