Luigi Robecchi Bricchetti | |
|---|---|
 Luigi Robecchi Bricchetti | |
| Born | 21 May 1855[1] Pavia |
| Died | 31 May 1926[1] Pavia |
| Alma mater | Karlsruhe Institute of Technology |
| Children | Mabruc Robecchi Bricchetti |
| Relatives | Ercole Robecchi (father) Teresa Bricchetti (mother) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Explorer,geographer,cartographernaturalist. |
Luigi Robecchi Bricchetti (21 May 1855 – 31 May 1926) was an Italianexplorer,geographer,cartographer andnaturalist.
Robecchi Bricchetti was the illegitimate son of Ercole Robecchi, a land owner fromZerbolò, and a young seamstress, Teresa Brichetti. He grew up with his mother and used her name until his father recognized the paternity after a lengthy legal battle. In 1874 Luigi changed his family name to Robecchi Bricchetti.[2]
Robecchi Bricchetti enrolled at the faculty of Civil Engineering at theUniversity of Pavia and then continued his education at theUniversity of Zurich and theKarlsruhe Institute of Technology, where he eventually graduated.[3][4]
He was a person of many cultural and scientific interests (ethno-anthropology, geography, geology, zoology, etc.), with an excellent knowledge of languages, including German and Arabic, which he spoke fluently.[4] He dedicated himself intensively to study[5] and combat widespread slavery in Africa.[2]
A classic nineteenth-century explorer, he returned to his home inPavia from his travels with a large number of objects and African documents. During his last trip to Africa in 1903 he freed aSomali Bantu woman and her son from slavery and brought them with him to Pavia. He later legally adopted the boy, who took the name of Mabruc Robecchi Bricchetti.[2] Robecchi Bricchetti died in Pavia in 1926.[3]
Robecchi Bricchetti spent much of his time travelling to Africa. He was the first European[citation needed] explorer to visit extensively theHorn of Africa region, also referred to asBenadir, to which he gave its current name ofSomalia.[3]
In 1885, he travelled toEgypt, from where he reached the Oasis ofSiwa in the Libyan desert.[6][7]finds In 1888[6] he travelled toZeila in Somalia. He then crossed theDanakil Desert, and arrived inHarrar,Ethiopia, where he lived for several months and conducted a series of scientific studies .[8] He collected many poems circulating in the region at the time including some that covered the sageGuled Haji and the demise of the powerful SultanHersi Aman.[9]
In 1890, he returned toSomalia where he explored the then unknown region ofHobyo.[1][6] His journey covered an area of more than two thousand kilometers until he reachedAlula, and is documented by a large number of maps and photographs that he put together during the trip.[10]
Between 1890 and 1891 he led an expedition to the unknown territory ofMigiurtinia,[1] where he produced significant cartographic and ethnographic observations. In 1896, he made a new crossing of the Libyan desert up to the Oasis ofSiwa.[6] His last known trip to Africa was in 1903.[2]
Robecchi Bricchetti's collection of insects was initially assigned to a team of specialists (Carlo Emery for ants,Raffaello Gestro for beetles,Pietro Pavesi for spiders and scorpions,Paolo Magretti for wasps and grasshoppers,Arturo Issel for the shells, etc.). The reptiles were sent to theherpetologistGeorge Albert Boulenger at theBritish Museum. As a tribute, Boulenger dedicated to Robecchi Bricchetti a pygmy chameleon (Rhampholeon robecchii, now considered a subspecies ofRieppeleon kerstenii ) and an agama (Agama robecchii ).[11] He was also honoured by the ichthyologistDecio Vinciguerra, who named a catfish after him,Clarias robecchii, synonym ofClarias gariepinus.[3]
Robecchi Bricchetti left a will in which he donated the majority of his archive to the Ethnographic and Anthropological Museum in Florence and thePigorini National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography inRome. TheNatural History Museum, Pavia, received his photo-archive, his library and a selection of weapons and items collected during his thirty years of travels and explorations.[6][2]
The Robecchi Bricchetti Museum in theVisconti Castle (Pavia) is dedicated to him.[12]
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