Ulisse Aldrovandi

Ulisse Aldrovandi (1522-1605) was born in Bologna, where he studied first Mathematics and then Law. After devoting himself to the study of Logic, he began to study Medicine at Padua. On his return to Bologna, he worked in a number of fields and continued to take an interest in Medicine, Botany, Mineralogy and Zoology. He taught Logic and Philosophy for a long time at Bologna but never gave up his naturalistic observations: it was here in 1561 that he inaugurated the first Chair of Natural Sciences and in 1568 founded the Botanical Gardens. He wrote many works on natural studies, hydrology, various diseases, ornithology, plants, insects, pharmacology, medicine, cosmology and legendary animals, such as dragons and unicorns. Many of the results of his fieldwork went to make up the Aldrovandi Museum, part of which is still housed today in Bologna University Library together with Aldrovandi's personal library. A typical polymath with the encyclopaedic tastes of the sixteenth century, his books include empirical observations and legendary accounts, traditional classifications, catalogues of imaginary species and discussions about research methods. He went on many naturalistic journeys to observe and classify natural species and proudly claimed that he had never described anything without having touched and dissected it. He did not always maintain this promise, but his intention and perception were sufficient to make Aldrovandi a forerunner of naturalistic observation, a fascinating thinker on the borderline between traditional knowledge and modern science.