Vol52,6,2009New 557 ANNALS OF GEOPHYSICS, VOL. 52, N. 6, December 2009 Key words geological map of Italy – international geological congresses – central office of meteorolo- gy – geodynamic service – seismological observato- ry of Ischia 1. Scientific competencies of the MAIC and correspondence in the earth sciences pre- served in the archive Decree no. 4192, 5th July 1860, which estab- lished the competencies of the Ministry of Agri- culture Industry and Commerce (MAIC), also introduced an activity of experimentation and study aimed at perfecting methods and tech- niques in the various economic sectors and at in- creasing agricultural and industrial education (Caracciolo, 1960). According to the prevalent opinion at the time, a good administration, «without taking the place of private forces», was supposed to «illuminate» and uphold the produc- tive world by assuming the burden of informing and diffusing technical and scientific knowledge (De Cesare, 1868). A division for general statis- tics is known to have been created under the MAIC since 1861. The meteorological, geologi- cal and seismic services for the new unitary State, instead, were initiated between the seven- ties and the eighties under the Department for Agriculture, which became General Directorate in 1883 (Eramo, 1995); hydrographical surveys pertaining to the whole national territory were al- Scientific correspondence in the archive of the General Directorate of Agriculture under the Ministry of Agriculture Industry and Commerce Nella Eramo Archivio Centrale dello Stato, Roma, Italy Abstract The archive, which testifies the activity of the offices dedicated to geological studies and to the collection of me- teorological investigations from 1870 to 1895, contains important files of scientific correspondence. The latter includes letters from scientists, members of the councils, committees and research commissions established un- der the Ministry of Agriculture Industry and Commerce, as well as correspondence of technicians who were charged with particular duties by the administration, like Nicola Maraglia, general director for Agriculture, and Felice Giordano, director of the Service of the Mines. They are rich in news, opinions, observations and reports portraying scientific events and personalities of the time. As an example, some documents concerning the fol- lowing topics are illustrated: the origins of the Central Office of Meteorology and the role of Giovanni Cantoni; the establishment of a service for the systematic collection of data about seismic phenomena, by Michele Ste- fano De Rossi; the activity of the Geodynamic Commission; the project by Giulio Grablowitz for the construc- tion of the observatory of Ischia. Mailing address: Dr. Nella Eramo, Archivio Centrale dello Stato, Piazzale degli Archivi 27, 00144 Roma, Italy; e.mail: neramo@archivi.beniculturali.it Vol52,6,2009New 2-12-2009 12:39 Pagina 557 558 N. Eramo so instituted (Eramo, 1996). Therefore, as well as files concerning mainly agricultural subjects such as «agrarian stations and laboratories», «practical and specialised schools of agricul- ture», «vegetal pathology», «zoology and veteri- nary», etc., the General Directorate archive con- taines documents related to the activity of offices involved in hydraulics, land reclamation and irri- gation studies, meteorology, mineralogy, geolo- gy, volcanology and geodynamics. The chrono- logical range of the fonds extends from 1860 to the end of the century; although, more ancient records are present, produced by the different pre-unitary administrations. The correspondence available in the archive shows the role of scientists, professors and technicians during the establishment of the Ministry’s scientific services, as well as during their later development, when directly responsi- ble for the administration and when members of councils, committees and research commis- sions. Such documents are not often known be- cause they have remained hidden inside pon- derous files of an essentially administrative na- ture. They are important, however, for their po- tential to enlighten the reasons, conditioning and motivations for the choices made and the directions followed. On one hand, the letters of scientists addressed to the minister, the direc- tors, the inspectors and the presidents of com- mittees tell us about a whole activity aimed at informing, convincing, educating and support- ing the administration’s work; on the other hand they show the willingness and the awareness of some of those in charge of the services towards the occurring needs. Still to be better analysed, but absolutely fundamental, is the role of Nico- la Miraglia, director of agriculture for over thir- ty years (from the end of the sixties to the nineties of the 19th century), who ensured the continuity of the Ministry’s policy and was able to effectively mediate between the proposals of scientists and the ministerial decisions, often conditioned by budget constraints. 2. Geology Classified as «Geology» are all the files con- tained in more than fifty folders and related to: general affairs, congresses held in Italy and abroad, exhibitions, the geological map, geologi- cal offices, personnel, geological and mining ed- ucation. The documents include: the minutes from the Advisory Committee charged to estab- lish the methods and rules for the geological map; the correspondence with the Geological Commit- tee, which was entrusted with the high scientific direction of the surveys; all work progress reports from the geological engineers; etc. They can of- fer important information about the origins of the service and its actual running till 1895. As an example, I quote a document from the beginning of the unitary State, a note by Felice Giordano, chief inspector of the Corps of Mines, addressed to the minister of Agriculture, Tommaso Corsi, on 19th October 1860, about the «Geological map of the Country» (1). Gior- dano, mining engineer in the Ministry of Agri- culture and Commerce from the early fifties, later in the Ministry of Public Works of the Kingdom of Sardinia, was nominated chief of the Inspectorate of the Mines. Afterwards, from December 1866, he became a member of the Geological Committee, as well as Director of the Service of the Mines and of the surveying activities for the geological map until 1892, the year of his death (2). This report synthesises the events that led, with the royal decree of 28th July 1861, to the establishment of the Advisory Committee. It proves Giordano’s belief, already mature in 1860, that the new State required a scientific in- strument fundamental also for the development of productive activities. Aware that «there are issues which, although implying a long term so- lution, already require a direction to define the most adequate elements for the purpose» (3), he underlines the importance, «for a progressing State» (4), of a process which, at that time, oth- er nations in Europe and America had already accomplished or started: «Marking in different colours, on each region’s map, the masses of the different grounds constituting its framework or subsoil, sorted by age of formation, is of a high scientific interest as it refers to the chronology of their subsequent formation. It is, in fact, of a highly practical value because the genesis of lands and their underground struc- tures are essential elements for all industries, Vol52,6,2009New 2-12-2009 12:39 Pagina 558 559 Scientific correspondence in the archive of the General Directorate of Agriculture under the Ministry of Agriculture Industry and Commerce which directly or indirectly depend on the min- eral realm. Among these, stands the agricultur- al industry for which it is important to know the layout and the extension of lands of different formation and nature […]. It is also pertinent to all the operations related to sewers, irrigation canals, water sources and, more generally, the safe accomplishment of public works» (5). News and references to the work and the po- sitions of scientists from other countries can be found in the correspondence of engineers and professors, members either of the International Committee for the Geological Map of Europe or of the International Commission for the Uni- fication of the Geological Nomenclature; as well as in the reports written for the minister by the participants in international conferences. Worthy of note, for example, is the file on the International Conference of Geology in London (6), held from 17th to 22nd September 1888, which includes, among other things, the reports sent by Giordano and Giovanni Capelli- ni, director of the Reale Istituto geologico e pa- leontologico of the University of Bologna and president of the International Commission for the Unification of the Geological Nomencla- ture. On a note written on 21st November 1888, the minister Bernardino Grimaldi expressed doubt about the benefit of the Italian participa- tion in the geological conferences, as in London no significant decision had been taken about the items on the agenda, which concerned the «classification of the Cambrian and the Silurian and the limits of the Tertiary and Quaternary». In his reply, on 27th November, Capellini re- called how, in the Conference of Manchester of 1887, the American geologists had proposed, to their English speaking colleagues, to create an association permanently based in London, aimed at dealing with all the issues related to geological nomenclature. Their intention was clearly to bring about the cancellation of the IV International Conference, due in London the following year. Capellini explains: «If I had not taken part in the discussion in Manchester, where such a proposal had to be evaluated, it would have probably been accepted, with great disadvantage to the geological studies in gener- al and with sacrifice of our national self-respect in particular. The importance of the Internation- al Geological Conference became clear during the second session in Bologna in 1885, and as it is now widely acknowledged, it’s our duty to stand our ground and fight» (7). Another file, named «International Com- mission for the Unification of Geological Nomenclature» (8), contains a letter written on 23rd September 1887, where Capellini reports even more clearly what happened during the meeting in 1887. In Manchester he had man- aged to foil the attempt to institute a great asso- ciation of Great Britain and all the depending colonies, in fact of all the English-speaking countries, including the United States of Amer- ica, so that anything concerning the geological classification and nomenclature would be de- cided by this association rather than by the In- ternational Conference. The aim was to force all the remaining nations to accept the conclu- sions and the rules agreed in that association. Under the pretext that geologists of the other European nations could not reach an agree- ment, while it would be extremely simple for English speakers to do, without any apparent hostility, a deadly blow would have occurred for the International Conference, supposed to meet in London the following year. 3. Meteorology The archive also holds numerous and copi- ous files on meteorology, in particular related to the Central Office of Meteorology, from its insti- tution in 1876 until near the end of the century. It is undoubtedly worth carefully going through the abundant and regular correspon- dence between the director of Agriculture and Pietro Tacchini, director of the Central Office of Meteorology between 1879 and 1896, the last documented year in the archive. Worthy of note are also: the reports on the beginning of a sys- tematic series of studies in the field of forestale meteorology, and, in particular, on the surveys conducted by Tacchini and Elia Millosevich in the woods of Vallombrosa and Camaldoli in 1881 (9); the correspondence between Tacchini and Angelo Celli about the installation of a net- work for the parallel measurement of noso- graphic and meteorological data, aimed at bet- Vol52,6,2009New 2-12-2009 12:39 Pagina 559 560 N. Eramo ter identifying the connections between climat- ic-environmental conditions and malaria (10). As other contributions in the conference are dedicated to Pietro Tacchini and to the period of his directorship of the Central Office, I would rather consider in more detail some files of the years 1873-74, when the Meteorological Office was taking its first steps and the surveys and measurements were still under the Division of Statistics, directed by Luigi Bodio. The techni- cal direction of the service was then entrusted to the physician Giovanni Cantoni, who worked to rationalise and standardise the meteorologi- cal stations. The correspondence from that peri- od shows a restless activity orientated to create a national central service. In a report for the Ministry on 30th December 1874 (11), Cantoni refers to the annual activity of the Meteorolog- ical Office. Based on what had been agreed in the International Conference of Vienna in 1873, about the need to introduce shared protocols for the measurement and the publication of data from the different european countries, a decadal bulletin was launched, where «in as many as twenty stations, spread on the surface of the peninsula, the parameters of the main meteoro- logical events are compared; thus, even with a quick glance, it is possible to examine the gen- eral trend of the great perturbations and the dai- ly variations that occurred all over Italy; then they can be easily compared to the ones regis- tered in other regions of Europe» (12). Cantoni also declares that, compared to the previous year, thirteen more stations, out of a total of eighty, regularly send their meteorological notes to the Office. He points out to Luigi Bodio that, within the MAIC, the Hydrographical Commission is col- lecting the measurements from pluviometrical stations installed in the major rivers’ basins, so he proposes that the different offices systemati- cally share their data. He also highlights how, in the same Ministry, an increasing number of agricultural stations are provided with rain and meteorological measurements, which could be published on the monthly bulletin with an in- creased benefit for both agriculture and meteor- ology. In the same way, all the data telegraphed by the harbour offices to the Ministry of the Navy should be shared as well. Using Cantoni’s own words, he constantly underlines the neces- sity «to unify and revitalise the meteorological services, which lie unorganised and wasted un- der several ministries, by creating one central meteorological institute based on the Dutch, Danish and Swedish models; it should aim at coordinating the data measured by the numer- ous meteorological, maritime and hydrometri- cal stations present in our country» (13). 4. Geodynamics The Central Office of Meteorology, instituted by the royal decree 26th November 1876 and di- rected by Tacchini from 1879, later acquired also the directorship of the geodynamic service (14). Some documents on this service’s events have been located. In particular, they concern: the role of the Observatory and Central Geody- namic Archive, founded in 1882 under the Roy- al Geological Committee and directed by Michele Stefano De Rossi, from the beginning to its drastic reduction, due to the unification of the geodynamic service and the Central Office of Meteorology in 1887; the work by the Royal Geodynamic Commission, established by the royal decree 20th December 1883; the design of the Observatory of Casamicciola. The first steps of the service, based in Via Santa Susanna, are reported by De Rossi him- self in a letter (15), whose subject was «At- tribuzioni dell’Archivio Geodinamico», ad- dressed to the general director Miraglia on 12th June 1888: «First of all I think I should remind the Ministry that in 1882 I was asked, directly by the minister, to move the geodynamic archive, that I created, under the Royal Geolog- ical Committee, in order to enhance it and to make it the centre of a geodynamic service, as well as the well known publication of the Ital- ian Volcanism Bulletin. […] I also recall how, in order to propose the final configuration for the new scientific service, the Royal Geody- namic Commission, later established, recog- nised the personal property of such an archive and of the associated geodynamic library, ask- ing the Ministry to purchase them; such a pro- posal only involved the part preceding the year 1883, when the collection of news and docu- Vol52,6,2009New 2-12-2009 12:39 Pagina 560 561 Scientific correspondence in the archive of the General Directorate of Agriculture under the Ministry of Agriculture Industry and Commerce ments started to depend on the small office whose direction was given to me by the Min- istry» (16). The correspondence between the mentioned Central Archive, directed by De Rossi, and the prefects of the Kingdom is avail- able. On 20th April 1883 a circular was sent to the prefects to ask for the systematic transmis- sion of any news related to seismic events oc- curring in the various provinces, «[…] even those events whose low intensity wouldn’t nor- mally attract interest beyond the boundaries of the city or the place where they occurred» (17). The prefects immediately started to communi- cate important information to the office and proposed the installation of new measurement stations (27 new stations during 1883); they al- so signalled people and institutes that would or- ganise direct and scientifically rigorous surveys for free, providing they were given the right means. That is what De Rossi states in his letter to Miraglia on 30th December 1883 (18), adding that the new stations, together with the other 39 major ones, would produce a very effective net- work of geodynamic analysis. In the note De Rossi wrote on 16th Decem- ber 1883 for Giordano, director of the geologi- cal service, he highlighted the necessity for the Observatory of Rome and for the other provin- cial ones to be provided with appropriate equip- ment. A detailed report, attached to the note, describes the first steps taken to institute the new service. It reads: «Among the other re- quirements of the geodynamic service, there is a need for mobile as well as fixed observatories. «Mobile observatories» are a set of portable in- struments that can be used either for scientific excursions or to create temporary measuring stations, ready to be installed in case of sudden seismic activities. Such a need has been partial- ly fulfilled, despite the lack of means, thanks to the availability of a limited number of instru- ments; during this year, mobile instruments have been working in Cascia in Palazzuolo, in Albano, in Serrara Fontana and in Ischia. While considering the geodynamic service’s work, it is fundamental to mention the network of meas- uring stations, supplied with some seismo- graphs, installed on the slopes of Etna; a central observatory has also been established in Cata- nia, promoted by the director of the Meteoro- logical Office, Tacchini. Tacchini also provided the most valuable observatories with some seis- moscopic detectors, for the analysis of more in- tense earthquakes» (19). During the debate in Parliament on a law to define the institutional aid for the people affect- ed by the earthquake of Ischia, on which occa- sion the Ministry of Agriculture was involved for the installation of a geodynamic observato- ry on the island, De Rossi wrote a letter (3th February 1884) (20) to the minister Domenico Berti, «[…] in order to make the use of some essential terminology clearer» (21). His purpose was to avoid confusion and to clarify the main objective of seismic studies and observations; he explained: «The study of the internal activi- ty of the earth, that we call Geodynamics, is now made of continuous observations and based on special instruments, because this has been proved to be the only method to investi- gate its rules and to discover its causes. Even though the forecast of dangerous phenomena is not the direct purpose of this study, it could rep- resent its final result; for this reason it is worth conducting such observations in all those places where seismic activity is most intense» (22). He added that science cannot be expected to fore- see the place and time of an earthquake or of an eruption, however «the experimental method based on scientifically regular observations, conducted in appropriate observatories, has proved the existence of precursory phenomena. When the course of such phenomena will be better understood, even the scientific prediction of the greatest phenomena will be possible» (23). So, regarding the observatory of Ischia, «it must not be used to inform the public daily about the dynamic configuration of the earth, but it will record all the different phenomena detected on the island. When an abnormal accumulation of these phenomena will occur, as happened be- fore the earthquake of Ischia on 28th July, it will be possible to warn the population about the expectation of a similarly extraordinary event» (24). It is also interesting to examine what ap- pears from the documents concerning the Geo- dynamic Commission, which had the task to propose the final configuration of the geody- namic service. The Commission members, be- Vol52,6,2009New 2-12-2009 12:39 Pagina 561 562 N. Eramo sides De Rossi, Tacchini and Giordano, were: Luigi Palmieri, director of the Vesuvian Obser- vatory; Cerasio Silvestri, director of the Geody- namic Observatory of Catania; Galileo Ferraris, director of the Laboratory of Physics of the In- dustrial Museum of Torino; Francesco Denza, director of the Meteorological Observatory of Moncalieri; Giovanni Cantoni, member of the Council of Meteorology; Torquato Taramelli, director of the Museum of Mineralogy and Ge- ology of the University of Pavia; Giulio Grablowitz, director of the Geodynamic Obser- vatory of Casamicciola. The correspondence between the President of the Commission, Pietro Blaserna (at that time, director of the Department of Physics in the Uni- versity of Rome) and the General Directorate of Agriculture is particularly relevant, as it contains information and comments on the main subjects discussed in the Commission meetings. For ex- ample, in his letter dated 17th June 1886 (25), Blaserna writes: «The Commission considers neither useful nor appropriate to suggest to the government the establishment of a central geo- dynamic office. Since an extended network of meteorological stations already exists, and be- cause there are many analogies between the me- teorological and the geodynamic service, they could be joined in a single central office, under the competent guide of Tacchini» (26). The Geodynamic Commission also debated about the most suitable instruments and meth- ods for the investigations. The contribution of the Commission members on this subject is highly criticised by Blaserna, who describes the reports by Palmieri and Silvestri as insufficient and consideres De Rossi’s superficial descrip- tion of the available instruments as a sign that he is underestimating the matter. Blaserna also adds: «Unfortunately we must admit that we have been overtaken by other countries and, if we had continued following our old ways, Italy wouldn’t have been able to conduct strictly sci- entific studies on ground movements» (27). Commenting on the report by Grablowitz about the scientific instruments, whose publication he highly recommends (28), Blaserna refers to the Commission’s decision about it: «The Commis- sion holds that the future of seismic studies in Italy is based on the availability of recording in- struments able to register the three components of ground movement. For this reason, the Com- mission suggests that the main observatories collect all the instruments listed in the report, in order to test and select them» (29). The archive of the General Directorate of Agriculture also preserves important documen- tation on the history of the Observatory of Casamicciola. Several files concern the build- ing of the observatory, in particular: the initial inspections performed by De Rossi, Tacchini, and Grablowitz; the preliminary design by Grablowitz (December 1884); the comments by Grablowitz about the feasible project drafted by the Ufficio speciale del Genio Civile. Worthy of note, as an example, are two reports by Grablowitz (30): the first one, written on 18th December 1884 and addressed to the president of the Geodynamic Commission, is about the place and position of the observatory, the sub- soil steadiness and the stability of the building, which are very important factors for the instal- lation of the seismic instruments; the second one, sent to the Ministry of Agriculture Indus- try and Commerce on 28th September 1886 (when Grablowitz was the director of the obser- vatory), illustrates the basic characteristics of the construction, like the optimum surface area, the perfectly square shape, and the dimensions of the central pillar. Notes (1) Archivio Centrale dello Stato (ACS), Ministero di Agricoltura Industria e Commercio (MAIC), Direzione ge- nerale dell’agricoltura (DGA), Versamento V, b. 951, fasc. 4193 «86/1. Carta geologica. Direzione scientifica. Giunta consultiva per la formazione della carta geologica», 1860-1865. (2) ACS, MAIC, DGA, Versamento IV, b. 770, fasc. 4365 «84/1. Giordano comm.re Felice», 1852-1892. (3) «Esistono questioni le quali, benché di lunga soluzione, esigono tuttavia sin d’ora una direzione che ne pre- disponga gli elementi allo scopo migliori». Vol52,6,2009New 2-12-2009 12:39 Pagina 562 563 Scientific correspondence in the archive of the General Directorate of Agriculture under the Ministry of Agriculture Industry and Commerce (4) «Per uno Stato progrediente». (5) «Il segnare sulla mappa delle diverse regioni con colori diversi le masse dei terreni che ne costituiscono l’os- satura o sottosuolo, distinte per l’età della loro formazione, è d’interesse scientifico in quanto si riferisce alla cronologia della successiva loro formazione, ed è però nel fatto di somma utilità pratica, stante che il modo del- la genesi dei terreni, la loro disposizione sotterranea sono gli essenziali elementi di tutte le industrie che dipen- dono in modo diretto e indiretto dal regno minerale. Fra queste primeggia l’agricola, per la quale è importante conoscere la disposizione ed estensione delle zone dei terreni di varia formazione e natura […]. Ne dipendono anche tutte le operazioni, oggidì capitali, della fognatura, del tracciamento dei canali irrigatori, dell’allaccia- tura delle sorgenti, e in generale tutto il ramo dell’idrografia sotterranea». (6) ACS, MAIC, DGA, Versamento V, b. 950, fasc. 4189 «85/1. Congresso geologico internazionale a Londra», 1888-1889. (7) «Se io non avessi preso parte alla discussione a Manchester ove si doveva deliberare su quella proposta, es- sa sarebbe forse stata accolta favorevolmente con grande svantaggio degli studi geologici in generale e con sa- crifizio del nostro amor proprio nazionale in particolare. L’importanza del Congresso geologico internazionale emerse nella seconda sessione in Bologna nel 1885 e, poiché oggi ciò è ammesso da tutti, a noi incombe l’ob- bligo di restare sulla breccia e lottare». (8) ACS, MAIC, DGA, Versamento V, b. 950, fasc. 4185, anni 1886-1888. (9) ACS, MAIC, DGA, Versamento IV, b. 633, fasc. 3670 «32/8. Meteorologia forestale. Camaldoli», 1873-1886. (10) ACS, MAIC, DGA, Versamento V, b. 885, fasc. 3918 «42/6. Malaria. Complessiva», 1886-1891. (11) ACS, MAIC, DGA, Versamento II, b.198, fasc. 1422 «32. Meteorologia. Complessiva. Dal 1873 al 1878», 1873-1878. (12) «Per ben venti stazioni, ripartite sulla faccia della penisola, si espongono in forma comparativa, le vicende decadiche dei principali elementi meteorici, tantochè, quasi a colpo d’occhio, può argomentarsi l’andamento generale delle grandi perturbazioni e delle variazioni diurne occorse in tutte le parti d’Italia, e lo si può di poi facilmente paragonare a quello contemporaneamente verificatosi nelle altre regioni d’Europa». (13) «[…] di dare unità e vita ai servizi meteorici che fra noi giacciono sperperati e malfermi sotto vari ministe- ri, creando un istituto meteorico centrale, sul tipo di quelli dell’Olanda, della Danimarca e della Svezia, il qua- le valga a ridurre ordinate e feconde le tante osservazioni che si van facendo nelle numerosissime stazioni me- teoriche, marittime, idrometriche, che sono nel Regno nostro». (14) Royal decree 9th June 1887, n. 4636. (15) ACS, MAIC, DGA, Versamento V, b. 965, fasc. 4242 «90/1. Osservatori geodinamici. Roma. Osservatorio e Archivio Centrale Geodinamico», 1881-1892. (16) «Parmi innanzi tutto dover ricordare ciò che è ben noto a codesto Ministero, essere cioè io stato senza mia ri- chiesta direttamente invitato nel 1882 da s.e. il ministro a recare presso il Regio Comitato Geologico l’archivio geodinamico da me formato, per continuarlo e farne il centro di un servizio geodinamico, unitamente alla ben nota pubblicazione del Bollettino del Vulcanismo Italiano. […]. Ricordo inoltre come la Regia Commissione Geo- dinamica poscia nominata, per proporre l’assetto definitivo del nuovo servizio scientifico, riconoscesse la pro- prietà personale di detto archivio con l’annesso nucleo di biblioteca geodinamica, proponendo a codesto Mini- stero l’acquisto di esso per la parte anteriore al 1883; dal quale anno cominciava poi la raccolta delle notizie e documenti fatta per mezzo del piccolo ufficio allora fondato dal Ministero sotto la direzione dello scrivente». (17) «[…] anche quelli la cui conoscenza, per la loro tenue gravità, non esce dai confini della città o abitazione nella quale sono avvenuti». (18) ACS, MAIC, DGA, Versamento V, b. 962, fasc. 4230 «90. Vulcanologia. Affari generali. Disposizioni gene- rali», 1883-1888. (19) «Fra i bisogni del servizio geodinamico vi è quello degli osservatori volanti, oltre quello degli osservatori stabili. Chiamiamo “osservatori volanti” un corredo di istrumenti portatili, i quali servono non solo nelle escur- sioni ed esplorazioni, ma anche per organizzare piccoli osservatori temporanei dove se ne manifesti il bisogno, in seguito alla comparsa di un periodo sismico o d’altro genere di manifestazione endodinamica. Anche a que- sto bisogno, malgrado la mancanza di mezzi, si è provveduto con qualche istrumento; e nel corrente anno fun- zionano di tali osservatori temporanei in Cascia in Palazzuolo, presso Albano, in Serrara Fontana e in Ischia. Parlando dell’operato del servizio geodinamico, devesi accennare all’istituzione di una rete di stazioni fornite di qualche sismografo, distribuita nelle falde dell’Etna, con un osservatorio regionale centrale in Catania, mercé le cure del direttore dell’Ufficio meteorologico comm. Tacchini. Anzi il medesimo, per quanto lo scopo del suo servizio meteorologico lo comportava, ha procurato anche fornire, ad alcuni più meritevoli fra gli os- servatori meteorologici, un qualche avvisatore sismoscopico per lo studio dei terremoti di una certa intensità». (20) ACS, MAIC, DGA, Versamento V, b. 967, fasc. 4249 «90/1. Casamicciola. Osservatorio Geodinamico», 1884-1891. Vol52,6,2009New 2-12-2009 12:39 Pagina 563 564 N. Eramo (21) «[…] per far conoscere come debbano essere definiti e intesi alcuni concetti essenziali nella discussione». (22) «Lo studio dell’attività interna della terra, che chiamiamo Geodinamica, è ora organizzato nella forma di osservazioni continue e con appositi istrumenti, perchè si è visto essere questo il solo metodo per indagarne le leggi e scoprirne le cause. La previsione dei fenomeni pericolosi non è lo scopo diretto di questo studio ma po- trà discenderne come risultato. Interessa perciò principalmente l’organizzare tali osservazioni nei luoghi ove esistono le maggiori manifestazioni dell’attività interna». (23) «Il metodo sperimentale delle osservazioni scientificamente regolari fatte in appositi osservatori ha dimo- strato vera l’esistenza finora empiricamente conosciuta di fenomeni precursori. Conosciuto che sia in avvenire l’andamento di detti fenomeni, diverrà possibile anche una scientifica previsione dei fenomeni maggiori». (24) «Non si deve credere che debba avere l’ufficio di informare giornalmente il pubblico dello stato dinami- co della terra, ma poiché in esso si dovrà tenere conto esatto di tutti i fenomeni diversi notati nell’isola inte- ra, allorché si verifichi il complesso di uno straordinario cumulo di tali fenomeni, quale sembra essere avve- nuto prima del 28 luglio, si avrà ragione di sospettare e anche di avvertire la probabilità di un fenomeno pa- rimenti straordinario». (25) ACS, MAIC, DGA, Versamento V, b. 963, fasc. 4233 «90. Commissione Reale per il riordinamento del ser- vizio geodinamico», 1883-1887. (26) «La Commissione è partita dal concetto che nelle attuali circostanze non sarebbe né utile né opportuno di consigliare al governo l’impianto di un vero e proprio ufficio centrale geodinamico. […] Il servizio di meteo- rologia e quello di geodimamica hanno tra loro grandi analogie: si occupano entrambi di un ramo della fisi- ca terrestre ed entrambi si esplicano per via di osservazione. Trovandosi quindi impiantata un’estesa rete di osservatori per le osservazioni meteoriche, evidente si chiariva la convenienza di trarre profitto da essi per sta- bilirvi anche le osservazioni sismiche. Si poteva in tal modo non solamente realizzare una rilevante economia, ma dare agli studi e alle osservazioni un indirizzo unico. Fu perciò pensato di sottoporre i due servizi a un’u- nica alta direzione e riunirli sotto un solo ufficio centrale. […] Mercé la grande attività e l’autorità del Tac- chini, il servizio geodinamico acquisterà il grande sviluppo che tutti riconoscono alla meteorologia italiana». (27) «Purtroppo bisogna confessare che siamo stati scavalcati da altri paesi e che, continuando con l’andazzo fi- nora seguito, l’Italia non sarebbe mai stata nel caso di fare degli studi strettamente scientifici sui movimenti del suolo». (28) ACS, MAIC, DGA, Versamento V, b. 963, fasc. 4234 «90. Vulcanologia. Affari generali. Pubblicazioni estranee. Lavori scientifici inviati al Ministero e proposte di acquisto», 1883-1889. (29) «La commissione esprime parere che l’avvenire degli studi sismici in Italia sia fondato sulla possibilità d’impie- gare strumenti registratori i quali siano atti a segnare le tre componenti dei moti del suolo, in modo possibilmente in- dipendente dai moti propri dello strumento e colla maggior possibile sensibilità. Sotto questo punto di vista essa rac- comanda ai direttori degli osservatori principali di fornirsi al più presto possibile degli strumenti proposti nella rela- zione Grablowitz e di sottoporli a un esame pratico, onde constatare quali di questi corrispondano meglio allo scopo sopracitato». (30) ACS, MAIC, DGA, Versamento V, b. 967, fasc. 4249 «90/1. Casamicciola. Osservatorio Geodinamico», 1884-1891. REFERENCES CARACCIOLO, A. (1960): Stato e società civile. Problemi dell’unificazione italiana (Einaudi, Torino), pp. 34-53. DE CESARE, C. (1868): L’amministrazione dell’agricoltura, dell’industria e del commercio durante l’anno 1868 (G. Pellas, Firenze). ERAMO, N. (1995): Fonti per la storia della scienza e della tecnica negli archivi del MAIC, in Gli archivi per la sto- ria della scienza e della tecnica, International Meeting, Desenzano del Garda, Italy, 4-8 giugno 1991 (Ministero per i Beni Culturali e Ambientali - Ufficio Centrale per i Beni Archivistici, Rome), pp. 1019-1039. ERAMO, N. (1996): Fonti per la storia delle acque di Roma e del Lazio, Rivista storica del Lazio, 4, 163-193. Vol52,6,2009New 2-12-2009 12:39 Pagina 564