MOLTI AMICI IN VARIJ LUOGHI: STUDIO DELLA NATURA E RAPPORTI EPISTOLARI NEL SECOLO XVI

Abstracttitle SUMMARY /title During the 16th century research in natural history developed also because of the strong spirit of collaboration animating various scholars. They continuously exchanged scientific informations, specimens and depictions of the three kingdoms of nature. Thus the great obstacle represented by geographic distance was at least partially overcome: whatever a scholar did not manage to see directly, could become known to him with the help of his collegues. Correspondence is with no doubt one of the main sources to help focus on and study these collaborations. In this paper a group of letters preserved in the Trew legacy of the University Library at Erlangen is examined. The major part of the letters were addressed to the German physician Joachim Camerarius, whereas the addressors were four of the most famous naturalists working in Italy during the second half of the 16th century: Francesco Calzolari, Ulisse Aldrovandi, Giuseppe Casabona (Joseph Goedenhuyze) and Ferrante Imperato. Apart from providing abundant information on the activities and on the particular interests of these scientists, these letters also give direct evidence of the intense scientific ties between Italy and Germany at that time.