Natura e patria. I congressi della Società italiana di scienze naturali nel processo di costruzione dellìidentità nazionale

Nature and homeland. The congresses of the “Società Italiana di Scienze Naturali” in the building process of Italy’s national identity. The “Società Italiana di Scienze Naturali” (SISN), founded in Milan in 1855, first as “Società Geologica residente in Milano” and since 22 January 1860 with its present name, played an active role in the building process of the national identity after the unification of Italy. Being the first naturalistic society in Italy, it manifested this vocation particularly through its annual congresses, organized between 1864 and 1906 in various cities of the Country. The special off-site meetings had well defined purposes: the geological and naturalistic exploration of the newly unified territory, still greatly undocumented; the justification of the naturalist as a professional scientist; the spread of science as the driving force of progress for Italy; the assertion of the SISN as a reference centre for all Italian naturalists. The present paper proposes reading the history of the “Società” from its origins to 1906 through the looking glass of the post-unification congresses.