Gustavo Uzielli (May 29, 1839 in

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

– March 7, 1911) was an Italian

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

, and scientist.

Biography

Gustavo Uzielli was born in 1839 in Livorno (

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

) within a wealthy family of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

origin. He made his studies at

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

where he obtained his baccalaureate of science. Later he studied at the universities of

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 ...

and Pisa, where he graduated and became a doctor of mathematics and physics. He took part in several campaigns undertaken in favor of the

unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century Political movement, political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, annexation of List of historic states of ...

first as a soldier in 1859, and then in 1860 with

Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...

until 1866. At the end of the war he received a gold medal as a result of their military value in the Battle of Volturno. Was admitted in 1867 to the Florence

Italian Geographical Society Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

. He then worked as an assistant in

mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical mineralogy, optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifact (archaeology), artifacts. Specific s ...

to Royal University of Rome. In 1869 the astronomer Giambattista Donati extended the workshop Galileo which he ran, contributing to the invention of new tools of physics and topography. Performed interesting studies on the history of geography, the globes and charts. Of particular importance are studies relating to travel by Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli and Amerigo Vespucci, who contributed to the work of Colombian Commission, created to celebrate the discovery of America in its fourth centenary. Many studies Uzielli were inspired by

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...

, as a scientist as well as a writer and artist. In 1872 he made a trip to Vinci, to get closer to the birthplace of the scientist, and together with his brothers Martelli, Frederick, Louis and Roberto, helped to give birth to the Museum Leonardo. Taught in 1877 in the Universitat de Modena Mineralogy and Geology in 1880 from the School of Application for engineers in Turin. Ceased its work of historical research, he devoted himself to the publication of numerous pamphlets and articles on various topics from geology to drinking water, inland navigation to the arrangement of mountain basins, communications stations in Livorno, La Spezia and Genoa, at issues in the city. Died in

Impruneta Impruneta is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Florence, in the Italian region of Tuscany. The population is about 15,000. Name and production The name Impruneta is derived from ''inprunetis'' meaning "within the pine woods", and ...

, May 7, 1911. The Via Gustavo Uzielli in Vinci is named after him.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uzielli, Gustavo 1839 births 1911 deaths Livornese Jews Writers from the Grand Duchy of Tuscany 19th-century Italian geologists