Search

This paper aims at reconsidering the archaeological interpretation of the Cittanova area (northern Italy) by analysing new stratigraphic data collected in its surroundings and along the Via Emilia towards the city of Modena. New elements are presented to discuss the traditional interpretation of this important historical and archaeological site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims at describing the magisterium and the scientific legacy of Walter Belardi (1923-2008), professor of historical linguistics at Napoli-Orientale first (since 1956) and then at Roma Sapienza (1964-1998). After recalling the scientific relationship between Belardi and his teacher Antonino Pagliaro (1898-1973), the article focuses on Belardi’s research trajectories, from Indo-European to Iranistics, from general linguistics to classical and romance studies. The article reviews the profiles of Belardi’s many pupils across essentially three generations of professors, all of whom focused on themes inherited from their master. These were explored primarily in light of the common philological-textual approach that is typical, more generally, of the so-called “Roman school of linguistics”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a preliminary topographical study of the links between settlements and watermills along the Apennine stretches of the rivers Panaro and Secchia. The study was carried out by means of different GIS platforms, using a series of algorithms that made it possible to thematise various aspects of the problem and provide some hints for the design of future research. Finally, the problems not yet addressed are focused trying to place them in the broader context of existing literature on the subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines, even through the analysis of some case studies, some recent national initiatives for historical rural landscapes. Some problematic issues, both theoretical and practical, that emerge considering these landscapes in conservation and safeguard policies, are then highlighted, with reference to the Italian case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A critical analysis of archaeological research in the territory of Modena is proposed. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the main results achieved by means of a topographic approach to the study of ancient landscapes: settlements, anthropic landscape transformations, exploitation of natural resources, communication networks. Finally, an alternative approach is discussed, rethinking the relationship between the environment and humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lazzaro Spallanzani (Scandiano, 1729-Pavia, 1799) was a scholar with many interests, from classical literature to law, until he eventually dedicated himself completely to the study of natural history. He was interested in several scientific disciplines, such as physics, chemistry, mineralogy, geology, volcanology and, of course, biology, botany, physiology, anatomy and zoology. In his role as professor at the University of Pavia (Italy), he enterprised numerous journeys and carried out intense field surveys and laboratory analyses. In his correspondence with Italian and foreign scholars and in his publications he left a considerable heritage of discoveries and insights, among which the famous experiments on sterilization, which were later reconsidered by Pasteur. In addition, he had several intuitions on the physiology of artificial, animal and human digestion, animal reproduction and biology of marine organisms; he also carried out experiments which led him to hypothesize that bats used a “new sense”. His keen interest in some animal species is less known, although his research was thorough and in depth. On this subject, he wrote a series of booklets on three species of swallows and two of swifts (the Common Swift and the Alpine Swift), on the Scops Owl and on Eels, as witnessed by tome VI (1797) of his book entitled Viaggi alle Due Sicilie e in alcune parti dell’Appennino (1792, 1793, 1795). His Viaggi became a very successful book with several editions; it was also translated into French, English and German, although his specific booklets are found only in two French editions. This paper takes into account mainly the two booklets by Spallanzani on the two species of swifts and their relationships with swallows. His investigation approach was very modern for those times, considering that he carried out ringing and recapture activities to demonstrate the fidelity of reproductive swifts and swallows to their original nests when they return from their wintering quarters. Finally, the comparative review of Spallanzani’s scientific articles is accompanied by the English translation of the two booklets on swifts in order to provide naturalists and ornithologists with the interesting and well-documented remarks, which contributed to the fame of one of the most renowned naturalists of the 18th century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2019 Yearbook of meteorological observations at the Geophysical Observatory, located in the eastern tower of the Dukes’ Palace in Modena, is presented. Also in this year, instrumental observations were carried out regularly without interruptions, as has happened since the foundation of the Observatory in 1826. The restored Observatory was inaugurated on 17 April 2019 and numerous visits have been organized for interested parties. From April to December 2019, almost two thousand people visited the Geophysical Observatory and discovered its instrumentation. In this paper, we present the annual summary of the average, total and extreme values of the main weather parameters, the graphs with annual and monthly trends of some parameters compared with average climatological values and tables with daily data. There are also some tables showing the average and extreme values of all the parameters recorded in the Observatory, in the Campus DIEF station in Modena and in the Reggio Emilia station. The data presentation is provided with a brief meteo-climatological analysis, referring to the 1981- 2010 30-year period. In 2019, the average annual temperature was 16.2 °C. Therefore, last year became the second warmest year since observations were made, exceeding the year 2018 by 0.1 °C. The positive anomaly, compared to the 1981-2010 period, is +1.9 °C. The total rainfall in 2019 amounted to 910.3 mm. Overall, 2019 was a rainy year, with 37% higher rainfall than the 1981-2010 climatic value (660.7 mm). In particular, the month of May showed an unusual and marked anomaly of rainfall with 241.8 mm of total rainfall. It was the rainiest May since 1830, as well as the eighth rainiest month of all the months observed to date. Finally, some data from the meteorological station located in the Karen Mogensen Reserve, in the Pacific sector of Costa Rica, are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The human skeletal material described in this paper comes from the archaeological excavation carried out by the Geopark Society and the Archaeological Superintendence of Cagliari and Oristano under the direction Dr. D. Salvi, at the Church of St. Francis of Iglesias, in the area called S. Marcello Orto. The radiocarbon dating of the findings, calibrated, resulted in the year span 1460-1650 AD at 95.4%. This paper describes the digging operations and the subsequent anthropological examination of the skeletal material, with considerations about paleo-pathology and living conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper intends to reconstruct the climate of Turin where he lived and worked Giuseppe Levi, the particular figures which animated the subalpine universities in the fascist period, the fruitful interaction between Jewish and anti-fascist world. Particular attention will be devoted to the different reactions of the Jewish community during the confidence to fascism in 1931 oath. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the political unification o f Italy, neurology was considered either as a subsection of internal medicine or as a field which was, in part, a "companion" to psychiatry. Indeed it was only at the end of the 19th century that neurology began to develop into a more distinctive field and, accordingly, this paper outlines the various academic roots of Italian neurology and includes a brief description o f the scientific activity of some o f the most well-known names in this field from the end of the 19th to the first half of the 20th century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper Miettiella vespertilio n. gen. n. sp. from the Lessini Mounts (Verona, Veneto, Italy) is described. Based on the combination of its characters, it belongs to the "phyletic series of Boldoria". Unpublished data on Monguzziella grottoloi are also given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Until the so-called sanitary reform (1978), which introduced a Beveridge system, in Italy existed a peculiar kind of general practitioner, paid by municipalities, who ensured healthcare to those not covered by social insurance. In small towns those physicians also carried out the function of Health Officers, performing Public Health duties. We had the possibility to study the very large archive of one of them, doctor Sgandurra from Farindola, a village in the Abruzzi Region (central Italy): in the paper we briefly analyse six public health acts that he issued in the first half of the 1950s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A survey carried out during 2014-2015 by Wood light traps in four different sites of the Piedmontese Po fluvial park (eastern course) showed the presence of 71 Carabid species, of which 18 were not previously recorded in the paper by allegro & Sciaky (2001) concerning the same fluvial area. The records of some interesting species such as Bembidion assimile, Lymnastis galilaeus, Egadroma marginatum, Acupalpus brunnipes, Trechicus nigriceps and Zuphium olens are discussed, as well as the main limiting factors of this sampling method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 1987, this paper has presented the yearly report of the meteorological observations at the Geophysical Observatory of Modena and Reggio Emilia University, which is located inside the eastern tower of the Dukes' Palace of Modena. The Observatory was founded the 26th January 1826 and ever since its instruments have regularly recorded data. For the year 2015, we present a summary of the annual average values, total and extreme weather of the main parameters, plots with annual and monthly trends of several parameters compared with average climatological values. In addition, "the extremes of 2015", i.e. the average and extreme values of all data collected by the Observatory and at the meteorological stations "Campus DIEF", located in the Department of Engineering in Modena, and at the Campus San Lazzaro in Reggio Emilia are presented. In 2015, there were also anomalies, in line with climate change taking place at a global scale. In particular, July 2015 with an average temperature of 29.4 °C, equals the hottest temperature record of August 2003 and was the hottest July ever recorded. The year 2015, with an average temperature of 16.1 °C, is the second warmest year on record. The amount of precipitation is close to climatic mean, but with some anomalies in monthly distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper indicates, by describing their predatory behaviors, seven species of birds observed to catch Cydalima perspectalis larvae; moth infestations widespread in the Far East and accidentally introduced to Europe in 2006, larvae that cause considerable damage to the box tree, Buxus sp., removing all leaves from the area. The observations were made in Piedmont (NW Italy) in 2016 in relation to the Blackbird, Turdus merula and Great tit, Parus major; and in the Holland (Noord Brabant) in 2017 in relation to Oystercatcher, Haematopus ostralegus; Great tit, Parus major; Blue tit, Cyanistes caeruleus; Magpie, Pica pica; Starling, Sturnus vulgaris; House sparrow, Passer domesticus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]