MARIS LIGUSTICI: THE EMERGENCE OF A TRADITION OF MARINE NATURAL HISTORY BETWEEN GENOA, LA SPEZIA AND NICE (1805–1850)

Abstract

The emergence of marine natural history in the Ligurian Sea has traditionally been interpreted through the contributions of individual naturalists, particularly Antoine Risso. This paper proposes a different perspective by reconstructing the formation of a scientific network rather than the achievements of isolated scholars. Drawing on published works, prefaces, correspondence and contemporary historical accounts, the development of marine natural history is examined in the Ligurian Sea between 1805 and 1850.

The study identifies a sequence of interconnected phases. The pioneering investigations of Luigi Ferdinando Marsili and Lazzaro Spallanzani provided the methodological foundations for the study of the Ligurian Sea but remained essentially individual enterprises. A decisive turning point occurred with Barthélemy Faujas de Saint-Fond’s journey of 1805, which connected the emerging naturalists of Genoa and Nice with the scientific network of the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle in Paris. Within this framework Antoine Risso developed a comprehensive program of regional marine natural history centred on the waters off Nice, Domenico Viviani in the gulfs of Genoa and La Spezia, while Antonio Bertoloni initiated parallel investigations of marine algae and zoophytes in the extreme eastern area of the Ligurian Sea. Giuseppe De Notaris later recognised these complementary lines of research as parts of a single scientific enterprise, introducing the concept of the Maris Ligustici as a coherent natural region. Jean Baptiste Vérany subsequently reinforced this synthesis by integrating the research on Ligurian fauna into an international zoological network.

By shifting the focus from individual naturalists to the emergence of a scientific tradition, this study argues that the Maris Ligustici was progressively constructed as a distinct object of natural history through the convergence of regional investigations, institutional developments and international scientific networks.