Luigi Guidi 1824-2024. A man of science and culture between Pesaro and united Italy
Pesaro - Vallefoglia, April 18 - June 21, 2024
Remembered above all for having founded the Valerio Meteorological Observatory of Pesaro and for his agronomic studies, Luigi Guidi (Sant'Angelo in Lizzola, May 11, 1824 - Pesaro, March 6, 1883) was a man of multifaceted genius and vast culture.
On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of his birth, the State Archives of Pesaro Urbino, the Agricultural Academy in Pesaro, the Foundation for Climate and Sustainability - Florence, the Pesaro Society of Historical Studies and the Municipality of Pesaro are promoting a series of events dedicated to the figure of Guidi, agronomist, meteorologist, scientist and teacher.
Organizing bodies:
State Archives of Pesaro Urbino
Agrarian Academy in Pesaro
Foundation for Climate and Sustainability-Florence
Pesaro Society of Historical Studies
Municipality of Pesaro
Collaborations (in alphabetical order):
Pesaro Municipal Historical Archives, Pesaro Diocesan Historical Archives, CREA - Council for Agricultural Research and Analysis of the Agricultural Economy, Ente Olivieri - Oliveriana Library Pesaro, Cassa di Risparmio Foundation of Pesaro, Ximeniano Observatory Foundation Florence, Institute of BioEconomics-National Research Council, Institute for the History of the Italian Risorgimento, A. Cecchi Agricultural Professional Technical Institute Pesaro, Bramante-Genga Economic and Technological Institute Pesaro, Mamiani High School Pesaro, Marconi High School Pesaro, A. Serpieri Meteorological Observatory - Urbino, University of Urbino.
With the contribution of: Marche Region, Municipality of Vallefoglia
Acknowledgements:
State Archives of Rome, State Archives of Reggio Emilia, Municipal Historical Archives – Pesaro, Library “A. Saffi” - Forlì, Municipality of Fano, Aspes - Pesaro, Parish of San Michele Arcangelo, Sant’Angelo in Lizzola (Vallefoglia), Parish of San Pietro in Calibano (Pesaro), Teachers and Students of the Schools who collaborated in the celebrations, Prosantangelo Proloco (Vallefoglia), Stroppa Nobili Archive, Francesca Brancati - Diocesan Historical Archive, Urbino, Paola Gennari, Federico Marcucci - Central Humanistic Library of the University of Urbino, Concetta Mattucci and Fausto Schiavoni, Otello Renzi
Born on May 11, 1824 in Sant’Angelo in Lizzola (now Vallefoglia, Pesaro and Urbino) he received a humanistic education under the guidance, among others, of Giuseppe Ignazio Montanari and only around 1850, after having experienced exile and prison due to his liberal positions and his adherence to the Roman Republic (1848-1849), systematically addressed naturalistic and scientific research.
A decisive factor for Guidi was his encounter with the science enthusiasts gathered at the Pesaro Agricultural Academy (among them the Marquis Pietro Petrucci, the Marquis Francesco Baldassini, the Count Domenico Paoli and the Count Giuseppe Mamiani, Terenzio's brother), of which he was appointed member in 1856 and later secretary; also in 1856 he took up the chair of Agriculture in the School established by the Academy itself, which he held until 1874. In the years of the nascent unitary State, Guidi worked for the establishment and development of the Royal Technical School and the Royal Technical Institute of Pesaro, where he carried out a passionate work as an educator and where he was respectively director and professor of natural sciences and dean and professor of natural history.
Author of numerous writings, mostly hosted in the “Esercitazioni dell’Accademia Agraria”, Guidi collaborated among other things in the drafting of the Inchiesta sull’agricoltura in Italia promoted by the parliamentarian Stefano Jacini in 1877, providing data relating to the Pesaro area.
Strengthened by the international recognition given to his activity, in 1860 Luigi Guidi obtained a subsidy from the extraordinary commissioner for the Marche Lorenzo Valerio that allowed him to create the meteorological observatory named after Valerio himself, located inside the Orti Giulii, a monumental city park. The monitoring of environmental data, started in 1871, continues today in collaboration with the most important Italian institutions in the sector and since 2018 the Valerio Observatory, one of the oldest in Italy, has been included in the network of the World Meteorological Organization with the qualification of Centennial Observation Station.
Luigi Guidi, who had been ill for some time, died on March 6, 1883. Until the end, his thoughts were focused on the Observatory, "the incessant work of the best years of my life."
