70
dissolution of the Society of Jesus in 1773 (Baldini, here). Curious about novelties,
and constantly informed about public scientific events in Italy and abroad (he formulated a hypothesis on hail formation after observing a balloon ascent in Rome;
Iafrate and Beltrano, here), far from being a scientist isolated in his ivory tower,
Secchi was fully immersed in the spirit of his time and promoted the dialogue
between science and society, still an important challenge today.
4.2 A Few Biographical Notes
In order to summarize Secchi’s life and activity, a short biographical appendix is
added to this volume. In this section, I just provide a few updated data, and some
comments and explanations to emphasize certain aspects of his life; a detailed biography is provided elsewhere (Chinnici 2019).
Angelo Secchi was born in Reggio Emilia on June 28, 1818. Sometimes the date
of his baptism (June 29) is reported as his birthdate; he himself did so in some documents regarding his entry into the Society of Jesus. This is not surprising because in
the Christian society of those times, baptism was considered the true birth to life.
Secchi was baptized with the name Angelo Francesco Ignazio Baldassarre; nowhere
appears the name of Pietro, even though this can be found in many biographies
(especially in English); probably this is due to an erroneous transliteration of
“P. Angelo Secchi,” meaning “Padre (= Father) Angelo Secchi,” which became mistaken for “Pietro Angelo Secchi.” The last son of Giovanni Antonio (1758-1837),
the owner of a carpentry shop, and Luigia Belgieri (1777–1867), seamstress, he
lived in a middle-class family. He had an older sister, Anna (1802-?), and a halfbrother, Tommaso (1791–1844), who was born from a previous marriage of his
father. Tommaso became a lawyer; this means that the family was wealthy enough
to support his studies – again, early biographies talking about his large and poor
family prove to be mere rhetoric, and wrong.
Angelo studied at the local Jesuit college and, at the age of 15, with the permission of his parents entered the novitiate of the Society of Jesus at St. Andrea al
Quirinale in Rome. A cousin of Angelo, Giovanni Pietro Secchi (1798–1856) was
also Jesuit and a renowned archaeologist; it remains to be ascertained whether he
influenced Secchi’s decision to enter the order. After taking his first vows in 1835,
Angelo stayed in Rome two more years to study rhetoric; then in 1837 he moved to
the Collegio Romano to study philosophy. His physics professor, Giovanni Battista
Pianciani (1784–1862) SJ, remarked that the young Jesuit was gifted in scientific
studies and he probably proposed to his Superiors that, after some training years at
the Jesuit college of Loreto, Secchi could became his assistant. From 1841 to 1844
Secchi taught physics at Loreto (Fig. 4.3); in those years, he provided the college
with a well-equipped physics teaching lab and prepared many public demonstrations with the students, including the launch of a balloon and some early experiences with telegraphs. Again we see fun and science hand in hand: indeed, an
excellent way to teach !
I. Chinnici
dissolution of the Society of Jesus in 1773 (Baldini, here). Curious about novelties,
and constantly informed about public scientific events in Italy and abroad (he formulated a hypothesis on hail formation after observing a balloon ascent in Rome;
Iafrate and Beltrano, here), far from being a scientist isolated in his ivory tower,
Secchi was fully immersed in the spirit of his time and promoted the dialogue
between science and society, still an important challenge today.
4.2 A Few Biographical Notes
In order to summarize Secchi’s life and activity, a short biographical appendix is
added to this volume. In this section, I just provide a few updated data, and some
comments and explanations to emphasize certain aspects of his life; a detailed biography is provided elsewhere (Chinnici 2019).
Angelo Secchi was born in Reggio Emilia on June 28, 1818. Sometimes the date
of his baptism (June 29) is reported as his birthdate; he himself did so in some documents regarding his entry into the Society of Jesus. This is not surprising because in
the Christian society of those times, baptism was considered the true birth to life.
Secchi was baptized with the name Angelo Francesco Ignazio Baldassarre; nowhere
appears the name of Pietro, even though this can be found in many biographies
(especially in English); probably this is due to an erroneous transliteration of
“P. Angelo Secchi,” meaning “Padre (= Father) Angelo Secchi,” which became mistaken for “Pietro Angelo Secchi.” The last son of Giovanni Antonio (1758-1837),
the owner of a carpentry shop, and Luigia Belgieri (1777–1867), seamstress, he
lived in a middle-class family. He had an older sister, Anna (1802-?), and a halfbrother, Tommaso (1791–1844), who was born from a previous marriage of his
father. Tommaso became a lawyer; this means that the family was wealthy enough
to support his studies – again, early biographies talking about his large and poor
family prove to be mere rhetoric, and wrong.
Angelo studied at the local Jesuit college and, at the age of 15, with the permission of his parents entered the novitiate of the Society of Jesus at St. Andrea al
Quirinale in Rome. A cousin of Angelo, Giovanni Pietro Secchi (1798–1856) was
also Jesuit and a renowned archaeologist; it remains to be ascertained whether he
influenced Secchi’s decision to enter the order. After taking his first vows in 1835,
Angelo stayed in Rome two more years to study rhetoric; then in 1837 he moved to
the Collegio Romano to study philosophy. His physics professor, Giovanni Battista
Pianciani (1784–1862) SJ, remarked that the young Jesuit was gifted in scientific
studies and he probably proposed to his Superiors that, after some training years at
the Jesuit college of Loreto, Secchi could became his assistant. From 1841 to 1844
Secchi taught physics at Loreto (Fig. 4.3); in those years, he provided the college
with a well-equipped physics teaching lab and prepared many public demonstrations with the students, including the launch of a balloon and some early experiences with telegraphs. Again we see fun and science hand in hand: indeed, an
excellent way to teach !
I. Chinnici