Adriano Balbi (April 25, 1782 – March 14, 1848), Italian geographer, was born at

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

. The publication of his ''Prospetto politico-geografico dello stato attuale del globo'' (

, 1808) obtained his election to the chair of professor of geography at the college of San Michele at Murano; in 1811–1813 he was professor of physics at the Lyceum of Fermo, and afterwards became attached to the customs office at his native city. In 1820 he visited

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, and there collected materials for his ''Essai statistique sur le royaume de Portugal et d’Algarve'', published in 1822 at

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where the author resided from 1821 until 1832. This was followed by ''Variétés politiques et statistiques de la monarchie portugaise'', which contains some observations respecting that country under the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

sway. In 1826 he published the first volume of his ''Atlas ethnographique du globe, ou classification des peuples anciens et modernes d’après leurs langues'', a work of great erudition. In 1829 he published, with Andre-Michel Guerry, ''Statistique comparée de l'état de l'instruction et du nombre des crimes dans les divers arrondissements des Académies et des Cours Royales de France'', the first comparative

choropleth map A choropleth map () is a type of statistical thematic map that uses pseudocolor, meaning color corresponding with an aggregate summary of a geographic characteristic within spatial enumeration units, such as population density or per-capita inco ...

showing crime in relation to level of instruction. In 1832 appeared the ''Abrégé de Geographie'', which, in an enlarged form, was translated. into the principal languages of Europe. Balbi retired to

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

and there died in 1848. His son, Eugenio Balbi (1812–1884), followed a similar career, being professor of geography at

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

, and publishing his father's ''Scritti Geografici'' (

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, 1841), and original works in ''Gea, ossia la terra'' (

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

, 1854–1867) and ''Saggio di geografia'' (

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, 1868).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balbi, Adrian 1782 births 1848 deaths Scientists from Venice 19th-century Italian geographers Republic of Venice people