The Evolutionary Biology Collection

Francesco Redi, Opere, seconda edizione napoletana corretta e migliorata, Napoli, a spese di Michele Stasi, 1778.

This collection was started in 1945 by Professor Mario Francesco Canella, who was at that time Head of the University Zoology Institute as well as Director of Ferrara Natural History Museum, both located in the present seat of the Museum building.

The collection consists of more than 200 volumes, including core works of the 18^th and 19^th centuries on zoology, protistology and evolution. Among the most important 18^th century editions it is worth mentioning those by the world renowned naturalists Vallisneri and Linneo, and the seven volumes edition (Naples, 1778) of Opere by Francesco Redi, the famous Italian physician, naturalist and poet who first challenged the theory of ‘spontaneous generation’ and is therefore considered the founder of experimental biology.

The collection also includes important 19^th century zoology works by Buffon, Lamarck and Haeckel; works by Bucqoy, Deutzenberg and Dollfuss in the evolution fields and protistology works by Balbiani and Gruber.

The collection is available at: Santa Maria delle Grazie Chemistry and Life sciences Library

References

Giuseppe COLOMBO, Dipartimento di biologia: sezione di biologia evolutiva: biblioteca ‘fondo antico’ , in Verso un museo delle scienze: orto botanico, musei e collezioni storico-scientifiche dell’Università di Ferrara, a cura di Carmela Loriga, «Annali dell’Università di Ferrara», volume speciale (2001), pp. 43-48