Paolo Mantegazza Research Articles

An all-embracing science: The anthropological conception of Paolo Mantegazza.

This paper deals with the anthropological conception of the first modern Italian anthropologist, Paolo Mantegazza (1831-1910). We will begin by contextualizing the status of anthropology in Italy during the second half of the 19th century. Subsequently, we will delve into some of the inspirations that led the Italians to have such a multifaceted conception of the discipline. Next, we will outline the content of this approach and clarify the meaning of "omnicomprehensive science."From there, we will come to understand the reason for the variety of interests of the anthropologist, who aimed to study the human being in all aspects of life. We will then mention the moral objective present in his professional journey: through an understanding of the complexity of human life, the anthropologist wanted to contribute to the progress and well-being of society; in other words, to "living well."

Sopra un dagherrotipo conservato nel Museo di Antropologia di Firenze

The article tells the story of a daguerreotype conserved in the photo library of the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnology, SMA, of the University of Florence. It is the portrait of a young South American native, taken in a photographic studio in Tarija, Bolivia. The client was Paolo Mantegazza, founder of the Florentine Museum and the first scholar in Italy to establish the chair of Anthropology. After a historical reconstruction of the circumstances in which Mantegazza had the portrait executed, the theoretical assumptions underlying the scholar's convictions and writings are examined.

‘Amate ma non generate’: Sexual Pleasure and Marital Hygiene in Paolo Mantegazza’s Sexual Science

Summary By exploring the links between popular marital medicine and Paolo Mantegazza’s sexual science, this article will shed light on the positive discourses on sexual pleasure that circulated during the second half of the nineteenth century in Italy. By doing so, it aims to draw attention to popular medicine’s contribution to the emergence of modern ideas on sexuality. First, the article will show how nineteenth-century marital sexual guides were influenced by eighteenth-century embryology, which considered mutual sexual pleasure as necessary for procreation. Second, it will demonstrate how, in Mantegazza’s sexual science, pleasure acquired importance in itself, as demonstrated by his committed advocacy of methods of contraception that safeguarded pleasure for both partners. Finally, the article will argue that the sexualisation of marriage in the 1920s can be understood as part of a long-standing positive discourse on pleasure embedded in the genre of marital sexual guides.

«Fish in the ears». Paolo Mantegazza, Percy Bysshe Shelley and us in San Terenzo 1822-2022

On July 8, 1822, the English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley drowned in front of Viareggio due to the shipwreck of his beloved boat Ariel. From that moment, amplified by the cremation of the body on the beach of the village on August 16, «mythology» expands dramatically, swallowing up its artistic value in many cases. Paolo Mantegazza did not escape the charm of the poet. Mantegazza shared, in an ideal way, San Terenzo, Shelley’s last home and the doctor’s village. In 1885, in fact, in a short article he searched the country for the «relics» of the Englishman, on behalf of Edward Dowden, who was working at that time on a biography of the poet. Starting from these ideas, on January 7, 2022, I made a visit to San Terenzo, reflecting on the construction of memory, measured by secular relics, also given by commemorative plagues and urban writings

“In Science, the Obscene does not Exist”. Paolo Mantegazza and the Blurred Boundaries between Sexual Science, Anthropology and Pornography (1870-1910)

“In Science, the Obscene does not Exist”. Paolo Mantegazza and the Blurred Boundaries between Sexual Science, Anthropology and Pornography (1870-1910)

La biblioteca di una filantropa Libri e letture di Stéphanie Omboni (1839-1917)

The aim of this article is to deepen the complex personality of Stéphanie Etzerodt Omboni (1839-1917), the Anglo-Belgian philanthropist and activist for women’s rights who lived in Padua in the second half of the nineteenth century by considering which readings were at the basis of her cultural, human, and spiritual formation, with a special account on the books or authors marked her philanthropic work or nourished her intellect or her curiosity, which kind of literary genres could be found in her library, in which languages, their quality, and their extent. The sources for this research are the correspondence between Stéphanie Omboni and some of the most preeminent personalities of her time (particularly with the anthropologist Paolo Mantegazza, the feminist and writer Sibilla Aleramo and the philosopher Gaetano Meale) and the remains of her family library, a partial book collection that constituted the much larger personal library of the Omboni couple, currently kept at the Museum of the Education of the University of Padua.

Towards a Medical Utopia: Medicine, Politics and Citizenship in Post-Unified Italy (1861–1910)

Summary In post-unified Italy, public health became a central concern for both politicians and medical doctors. The aim of this article is to look at the social and political roles played by hygiene in the post-unified Italian popular context, with a particular focus on the work of the scientist, politician and populariser Paolo Mantegazza (1831–1910). Mantegazza’s work offers an overview of how hygiene was popularised for the first generation of Italians using a variety of methods, including political and public talks, books and periodical articles but first and foremost, science fiction. The latter offers a possibility of exploring how medicine was considered a tool for a better future—a sort of political manifesto designed to both educate and galvanise Italians about the importance of health first for themselves but also the prosperity of the nation as a whole.

Abbozzo per una fisiologia della politica. Paolo Mantegazza tra barricate e parlamento

Despite its intangible meaning, a recurring term in Paolo Mantegazza’s research and popular work is physiology. Since his 1854 thesis on the Fisiologia del piacere, there have been many attempts to construct an ideal system in which the feelings expressed by the spiritual functioning of the body are regulated, or at least traced back to broader systems in the mechanistic field. Mantegazza, a parliamentarian from 1865 to 1876, does not expressly deal with a physiology of politics, however, in his parliamentary writings and speeches, it is possible to identify attempts to reconstruct the political system as a physiological moment, where the abstract reflections of the parliamentary hall become concrete actions in the social sphere.

HF02-10 SEXOLOGY AND SEXUAL RESEARCH: TRUE BEGINNINGS WITH PAOLO MANTEGAZZA, M.D.

You have accessJournal of UrologyHistory of Urology Forum II (HF02)1 Sep 2021HF02-10 SEXOLOGY AND SEXUAL RESEARCH: TRUE BEGINNINGS WITH PAOLO MANTEGAZZA, M.D. Michael McKeighen, and Michael Moran Michael McKeighenMichael McKeighen More articles by this author , and Michael MoranMichael Moran More articles by this author View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1097/JU.0000000000001993.10AboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookLinked InTwitterEmail Abstract INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Almost no one recalls or remembers the esoteric works of Italian physician, anthropologist, pathologist and physiologist who wrote about sexual exploits of aboriginal humans in the mid to late 19th century. His work was highly influential to many who followed in his vast wake, including Charles Darwin and we will review Dr. Mantegazza's contributions to sexology. METHODS: A review of the literature of all aspects of the works and writings of Paolo Mantegazza as well as articles by and about him were scrutinized. His primary writings are the foundations of this abstract including his popular fiction novels. RESULTS: Paolo Mantegazza was born on October 31, 1831 in Monza, Italy (the Lombardia region) to Giovan Battista Mantegazza and his wife Laura Solera Mantegazza and was well educated. He attended the famed ancient medical schools of Pisa and Pavia where he finished with honors in 1854 at the age of 19. Imbued with academia he also travelled initially to South America where his interests were in the anthropology of primitive cultures and tribes. He returned to Pavia in 1860 and became the first chair of experimental pathology in Europe. By 1870 after prolific outpouring of textbooks, he moved to the first Italian chair of Anthropology in Florence. Some of his famed works included Physiology of Pleasure, Physiology of Love, Love in Humanity, The Art of Taking a Wife, and most important to this writing Anthropological Studies in the Sexual Relations of Mankind. This printing of an anthropological work was so contentious that it literally was translated into many languages and profoundly influenced Freud. CONCLUSIONS: Way before the investigations of William H. Masters, Virginia E. Johnson, and Alfred C. Kinsey there was Paolo Mantegazza, M.D. He preceded and influenced the likes of Krafft-Ebing, Tardieu, Albert Moll, Havelock Ellis, Iwan Bloch and Magnus Hirschfeld. He began Sexual Relations with following statement- “I have conceived love to be the most powerful and at the same time the least studied of human affections. Surrounded by a triple forest of prejudice, mystery and hypocrisy, civilized men know it too often only through stealth and shame.” The same holds true today, though helped somewhat by the magisterial writings of Foucoult. It should come as no great surprise from such a devout Darwinist. Source of Funding: None © 2021 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 206Issue Supplement 3September 2021Page: e240-e240 Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 2021 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.MetricsAuthor Information Michael McKeighen More articles by this author Michael Moran More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement Loading ...

Utopian Views: Paolo Mantegazza's Techniques of the (Im)Possible

Abstract This article analyzes the depiction of the impossible in Paolo Mantegazza's L'anno 3000 (1897). Starting from the literary theory of possible worlds, it will be shown that the depiction of the impossible in Mantegazza's novel is associated with specific technologies that implicate different types of perception. The three forms of perception developed in the novel (transparent, panoptic, and psychoscopic) move from possible to highly impossible depictions regarding the scientific culture of fin de siècle Italy.

A new era for medical liability in Italy: back to positivism.

In 2017, the italian Chamber of Deputies approved the law n. 24 of 2017 (so-called "Gelli") on professional liability of healthcare professionals. One of the most significant innovations contained in the "Gelli" Law is a new provision in case of medical malpractice ('imperizia'), where the healthcare professional will avoid liability if he or she can show that they have acted in accordance with recommended guidelines published under law. In the absence of these guidelines the professional must adhere to principles of good practice.1 Guidelines provided by the law aim to standardize medical acts. They are based on the principles of evidence-based medicine, an approach to medical practice aimed at optimizing the decision-making process. In literature many physicians and jurists have commented, in a discordant manner, the choices of the Legislator. In this article a historical perspective is proposed, finding analogies between the principles of the "Gelli" law and positivist thought. The evolution that Positivism has had in the medical field has been analyzed, in particular studying the evolution of the thought of the Italian physician and strong positivist Paolo Mantegazza (1831-1910). In light of the facts it is concluded that the physician must always keep in mind that medicine is a science applied to man, and any medical act must be a consequence of a doctor-patient concordance that inevitably takes into consideration every single individual in his uniqueness. Thus, although difficult the next step of the legislator should be to favor the establishment of high-quality medical-patient relationships. In any case, if the physician has been most careful in managing a good relationship with each individual patient and in understanding her/his situation before performing medical acts, she/he may perhaps fear less potential judicial repercussions.

ENSAYO Y PERIODISMO ITALIANO SEGÚN LAS VERSIONES DE CARMEN DE BURGOS, COLOMBINE

Carmen de Burgos destaca en la literatura novecentista por suprolífica obra como narradora y periodista, aunque también fueautora de textos académicos, libros de viajes, ensayos y poesía.Una de las facetas de su producción más interesantes ydesconocidas es la de editora y traductora, tarea que desempeñóen distintas editoriales progresistas, desde la valenciana Sempereo Maucci de Barcelona a Serra y Rivadeneyra en Madrid. Conrespecto a la cultura italiana, a partir de la edición crítica de laobra de Leopardi publicada en 1911, Colombine mantuvo unconstante interés por la literatura y la prensa del joven país. Eneste artículo se analizan las versiones de los ensayos de PaoloMantegazza, Roberto Bracco y otros periodistas que descubrió ensu primer viaje a Italia y sucesivamente editó en España a fin depromover la reflexión sobre la condición de la mujer moderna.

Fare gli italiani dell’anno 3000 Paolo Mantegazza e le prospettive future dell’amore nell’Italia postunitaria

In 1897 the Italian anthropologist Paolo Mantegazza published The year 3000. A dream, a science fiction novel in which he described the future order of mankind through the journey of a couple. While recent historiography has focused on the eugenic elements of the book, this article discusses the social and gender matters that underpin the novel. Indeed, on the basis of the emotional paradigm of romantic love, Mantegazza put the ‘sexual reform’ of the post-unified Italy at the centre of his work. Believing that «love was the first instrument of progress», he aimed to show how under the guidance of science, humanity as well as Italian society would have a future of happiness and prosperity.

Fare gli italiani dell’anno 3000 Paolo Mantegazza e le prospettive future dell’amore nell’Italia postunitaria

In 1897 the Italian anthropologist Paolo Mantegazza published The year 3000. A dream, a science fiction novel in which he described the future order of mankind through the journey of a couple. While recent historiography has focused on the eugenic elements of the book, this article discusses the social and gender matters that underpin the novel. Indeed, on the basis of the emotional paradigm of romantic love, Mantegazza put the ‘sexual reform’ of the post-unified Italy at the centre of his work. Believing that «love was the first instrument of progress», he aimed to show how under the guidance of science, humanity as well as Italian society would have a future of happiness and prosperity.

PAOLO MANTEGAZZA'S VISION: The Science of Man behind the World's First Museum of Anthropology (Florence, Italy, 1869)

AbstractThis article examines some significant yet little‐known early anthropological achievements in Italy. These include the world's first museum of anthropology, founded in 1869 by Paolo Mantegazza (1831–1910) at Florence (Firenze), Italy, where that same year he also established Italy's (and the world's) first cattedra (university professorship) of anthropology. Mantegazza sought to develop a unified “science of man,” with a broad definition of the new discipline that brought together human physiological, ethnographic, and “comparative psychology” collections within his new anthropology museum, later complemented by a companion “psychological” museum. Even though Mantegazza's Florentine school of anthropology ended under Fascism, today the surviving Museum of Anthropology in Florence is still the repository of important ethnographic collections from early Italian traveler‐explorers and other contributors. Their study was an important component of Mantegazza's science, which is receiving new attention by modern Italian anthropologists.

Prostitutes, Trauma, and (Auto-)Biographical Narratives: Revisiting Brahms at the Fin de Siècle

Unlike Wagner, Mahler, or Schoenberg, Johannes Brahms is often absent from discussions of Viennese fin-de-siècle psychological theories and their intersections with musical culture. The privileged context depicting an aging Brahms resistant to new trends in politics and the arts discourages the notion that he would have known and been influenced by any such developments in the developing field of psychology or psychological arts. As a case study exploring Brahms’s potential engagement in these areas, this article reexamines the contested “legend” of Brahms playing piano in dive bars as an adolescent, not to determine its veracity, but in part to reveal how this motif functions in two different narrative models of Brahms biographies to about 1933. In the first model, the composer emerges spotless from the trials of a low-income childhood; in the second, however, he remains scarred by the unhealthy sexual climate of the bars. I argue that cultural-intellectual contexts in fin-de-siècle Vienna influenced Brahms’s attempts to shape his biographical narratives and that both models could have originated with Brahms himself. From Paolo Mantegazza’s sexology treatises to Hermann Bahr’s scandalous plays, the Viennese reading public was confronted with both scientific and literary material that conflated psychology, sexuality, and personal identity, while other artists such as Max Klinger sought to explore the unconscious motivations behind behaviors. In this context, we may reevaluate anecdotal evidence in which Brahms accords his adult problems to a traumatic childhood experience of playing piano in dangerous establishments: it suggests that Brahms could have taken part in fin-de-siècle trends of self-analysis and psychologized autobiography.

PAOLO MANTEGAZZA: FUTURO DELLA RICERCA E DEI GIOVANI

Paolo Mantegazza started to cooperate with our Foundation in 2006 as a member of the Charity Central Commission, the board competent to the definition of the intervention priorities of the Cariplo Foundation. That occasion, however, was not the first one in which I got to know the professional and human qualities of Paolo Mantegazza. His competence and diligence in favour of the research were in fact well known to me from the early meetings with him, then Rector of the University of Milan. As a member of the Charity Commission, he was appointed as Coordinator of the Scientific Research Subcommittee, to which Paolo Mantegazza put an incomparable effort until 2013. During the seven years of cooperation I firmly confirm the commitment and competence of Paolo Mantegazza, and I personally bear witness to the energy and creative impetus he had in himself. He took on his commitment in the Foundation with his typical seriousness, being present at every meeting and becoming available to any further confrontation besides the formal engagement. He has always showed a deep respect for the work of the Foundation, particularly for the Research Area with which he closely cooperated. He was always careful and systematically updated about his research field, as well as the ongoing debates at international level on the research policies and financing. Moreover he always shared with his collaborators the more recent progresses, carefully selected in the fields closer to the activities of the Foundation, bringing always new life to the debate in the Subcommittee. I can say without any doubt that is unusual to find, in personalities of such a distinction and competence, a spirit of cooperation and a sincere willingness to operate personally for the sake of the research, and to ensure the transparency of methods and choices, even when unpopular. I am therefore honored of the invitation I have received, because it gives me the occasion to recall in particular the commitment of Paolo Mantegazza in favour of the new generations and the “frontier” research. I think that an example can clarify the open mindedness and the propensity to innovation that characterized his personality. Paolo was very alert to the role of the financing mechanisms in the development of the creativity in the research. In particular, he was aware of to what extent the financing agencies, the governments and the companies tended to give priority – at the international level and even more in Italy – to lines of action intended to achieve short-term results, driven by the exigence to give account to the public opinion or to maximize their investments. The methods used in the selection of the proposals tend to reward the excellence placing one’s trust in subjects who already possess preliminary results or who own a rich curriculum vitae, considered as a guarantee of future success. Besides, Paolo Mantegazza was strongly convinced that strict disciplinary bounds in the distribution of funds could disadvantage the pursuit of interdisciplinary research approaches, which on the contrary represent uncontested opportunities to face complex issues. Just to promote unconventional lines of research and allow the exploration of new frontiers of knowledge, Paolo Mantegazza has firmly pursued and sponsored the birth of a new erogative instrument specifically devoted to the frontier research, dedicated to young researchers, who struggle to affirm original approaches in the context of more traditional funding channels. In our Foundation we consider the “Prize for the frontier research” one of the most significant heritage of the Commissioner Paolo Mantegazza, who in this way has contributed to the creation of a favorable context to the frontier research, essential driver of the scientific and social progress, encouraging the young researchers to undertake unconventional lines of research. I always believed that the treasure that will allow us to face new challenges of our society is really in the dialogue among the various competences that young people are able to express. The importance that Paolo Mantegazza has always recognised to young people, drivers of innovation, has been inherited by one of the three challenges which the new Charity Central Commission took for the current term, besides the community welfare and the well-breng.

PAOLO MANTEGAZZA: RETTORE DELL’UNIVERSITÀ DEGLI STUDI DI MILANO

Paolo Mantegazza has been Rector of the University of Milan for four consecutive mandates, from 1984 to 2001, after having been for 10 years Dean of the Medicine and Surgery Faculty (from 1974 to 1984). His rectorship period has been a time of great change in the society but also in university, as a result of the Universityre form law, Decree 382, passed in 1980. In 1989 the law no. 168 granted to the universities the statutory and regulatory autonomy as provided for in the art. 33 of the Constitution. In those days there has been a great increase in the number of students too, particularly in the University of Milan. While in the academic year 1983-1984, at the beginning of Paolo Mantegazza’s rectorship, the registered students were 63.450, in the following years the student number has increased to almost 100.000, thus entailing an intensive work to make suitable the teaching performance and the overall activity for such a huge number of students. Paolo Mantegazza has directed the University trying to carry out this ever-growing task, acting on different fronts. Considering among these the total regulatory framework of the Athenaeum. Actually he has promoted the introduction of a new statute (1996) and the approval of the main rules, implementing the University autonomy. The great growth of the Athenaeum caused different problems: the increasing of the teaching staff to cope with the huge numberof students, but new buildings too. In this last regard he did a lot in different areas in the interest of the great part of the Athenaeum faculties. Nevertheless the dimensions reached by the University of Milan required a more far-reaching plan to carry out the decongestion of the Athenaeum. He worked towards the doubling of some faculties and the creation of new degrees and new faculties. However it was very soon clear that the most rational solution consisted in the institution of a second Athenaeum in Milan, already assumed when the three-year plan 1991-1993 had been compiled. Thus in 1998 the University of Milan Bicocca was born. In the same year, with the contribution of Paolo Mantegazza and the University of Milan, together with the Pavia University, was instituted the Università dell’Insubria, with branches in Como and Varese. In 1996 was instituted the Vita e salute San Raffaele University too, with a great contribution of the University of Milan during the rectorship of Paolo Mantegazza, transferring there several teachers of the Medicine and surgery Faculty without forgetting the role of Mantegazza as President of Medicine in supporting a University Center in Brescia and the following establishment in 1982 of an independent university. The commitment of Mantegazza for the development of the scientific research in the University has been wide-ranging. At the end of his rectorship the University of Milan was the first Italian university in different international rankings concerning the scientific production. Thanks to these results, at the end of his rectorship in 2002, the University of Milan has been the only University invited to be one of the 12 european universities called up to found the “League of European Research Universities” (best known as LERU) that connects the most prestigious European Universities. During his rectorship he performed his duties (for two mandates) as Vice President of the Rectors Conference of the Italian Universities. He has been a rector of human qualities, with a great operative capability together with a gentle nature. He was sensitive to the student needs, considering the teaching and the student education the first goal of the University. Soon after the end of his Rectorship the then Minister of Education, University and Research, Letizia Moratti, accepted the modification of the Statute of University that in the meantime had been proposed, with the addition of a new article (Art. 56) stating: “In consideration of the merits and the decisive commitment given to the Athenaeum during his rectorship, we confer to Paolo Mantegazza the honouring of Rector Emeritus”.

PAOLO MANTEGAZZA E GLI UCCELLI DEL CIELO

The earliest interest of Paolo Mantegazza in bird biology was expressed as an attention to the world of ornamental bird breeders. Later on, Mantegazza was so deeply fascinated by Riccardo Stradi’s research on bird feather’s pigments to sponsor a magnificent University annual book just dedicated to this theme. At the same time he became very much interested and openly supported the establishment of a new ornithological station at Albonico, a supporting institution that readily produced several degree theses in biological and /or natural sciences and, in addition, several research papers on special ecological themes regarding . the life history of song birds. The success of the above cited station also suggested to try to save the old Milan zoo by establishing a zoo research station on the model of the corresponding institutions of the Milan aquarium and natural history museum. The project was discussed in comparison with the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust, and, as such, was strongly supported by Mantegazza, but due to a political change of the Miano city hall administration, it was suddenly rejected while the whole work done up to that point was completely lost. The unfortunate story of the Milan zoo was shortly followed by a much luckier one, regarding the study of the parrot language. With the moral and material help of Mantegazza, a number of African parrots were even hosted in an especially built glass structure within the domain of the Department of Pharmacology. In addition, they were also studied on the field in a series of short expeditions to Tanzania and Uganda. The results of these activities were summarized in a numbers of papers and books. A special memory is also worth about the world list of the Italian bird names, a project that was started almost as a semantic joke and was subsequently so much developed to suggest to ask to our Rector (and readily obtain) a University contribution for its publication. The resulting bird name list was even worth a Crusca Academy praise and was extensively adopted since its publication in the popular ornithological literature in the Italian language. The first paper print, delivered in 1993, was followed by a second paper print in the year 2000 and, more recently, by an electronic version enriched by introductory texts to orders and families as well as by several pictures by a number of photographers. In summary, Paolo Mantegazza was deeply interested in bird biology and encouraged/sponsored a number of researches and cultural events on this topic within the University of Milano.

MANTEGAZZA COME AMICO

The Author remember the fellowship with Paolo Mantegazza, from theattendance to the Medical Faculty to the entrance in the Institute of Pharmacologydirected by Emilio Trabucchi. Martini e Mantegazza lived later at the same time inEngland, respectively in Oxford and London, where their friendship became strongerto continue during the lecturing post of Mantegazza and when they both won therespective chair competition, Mantegazza was winner in Siena and Martini in Perugia.