The Naturalist Giuseppe Olivi

Born in Chioggia in 1769, Olivi has been one of the greatest Italian naturalists of the 18th century. He distinguished himself for his innovative approach to zoology, which major novelty was the inclusions, in his descriptions, of the ecological and economic aspects of the different organisms. Olivi's masterpiece Zoologia Adriatica (Adriatic Zoology, 1792), i.e.,Catalogo ragionato degli animali del golfo e delle lagune di Venezia (An annotated catalogue of the animals of the Gulf and Lagoon of Venice), was a milestone and a reference for all European naturalists, and is still used by anyone interested in marine organism life history.In addition to marine biology, Olivi also studied chemistry, mineralogy, botany and forestry, emphasizing the application sides of all these fields. Olivi has been a member of several Italian and European scientific academies, such as the Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts of Padova and the National Academy of Sciences (known as dei Quaranta as the effective members are always in number of the 40).He died in 1795, when he aged just 26.

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