Paolo Savi (11 July 1798 – 5 April 1871) 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, ...
and
ornithologist.
Biography
Savi was born in
Pisa
Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...
, the son of
Gaetano Savi, professor of
botany
Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...
at the
University of Pisa. The younger Savi became assistant lecturer in
zoology
Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...
at the university in 1820, was appointed professor in 1823, and lectured also on
geology
Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...
. He devoted great attention to the museum of the university, the
Natural History Museum of the University of Pisa, and formed one of the finest
natural history collections in
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
.
Savi was regarded as the father of Italian geology. He studied the geology of
:it:Monti Pisani and the
Apuan Alps, explaining the
metamorphic origin of the
Carrara marble; he also contributed essays on the
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...
strata and
fossils
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
of
Monte Bamboli, the iron ores of
Elba and other subjects. With
Giuseppe Meneghini (1811–1889) he published memoirs on the
stratigraphy
Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers (strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks.
Stratigraphy has three related subfields: lithost ...
and geology of
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 ...
(1850–1851).
[Woodward, Horace Bolingbroke, 1911 ]
History of geology
' London, Watts & co.
Savi also became eminent as an
ornithologist, and was the author of ''Ornitologia Toscana'' (1827–1831) and ''Ornitologia Italiana'' (1873–1876). In the autumn of 1821 he obtained specimens of an unstreaked, dark, rufous-brown warbler which was new to science. He published a full description of the bird in 1824, and it became commonly known as
Savi's warbler
Savi's warbler (''Locustella luscinioides'') is a species of Old World warbler in the genus ''Locustella''. It breeds in Europe and the western Palearctic. It is bird migration, migratory, wintering in northern and sub-Saharan Africa.
This small ...
.
Personal
Savi was buried in Pisa cemetery and his statue now stands in the
Orto botanico di Pisa.
Major works
''Osservazioni sopra la Blarta acervorum di panzee. Gryllus Myrmocophilus nob. Memoria (inedita) del dott. Paolo Savi, con tavola in rame'' Biblioteca Italiana ossia Giornale di letteratura scienze ed arti (1819 ago), Volume 15, Fascicolo
''Sulla Salvinia natans. Memoria inedita del dottor Paolo Savi, aiuto del professore di botanica dell'università di Pisa, con tavola in rame'' Biblioteca Italiana ossia Giornale di letteratura scienze ed arti (1820 dic, Volume 20, Fascicolo)
*''Ornitologia Toscana, ossia descrizione e storia degli uccelli che trovansi nella Toscana con l'aggiunta delle descrizioni di tutti gli altri propri al rimanente d'Italia'', 3 volumi (Pisa, Dalla tipografia Nistri 1827-1831). L'opera, di notevole importanza per la storia dell'ornitologia italiana, contiene 31 figure incise in rame. Venne ristampata postuma nel 1873 a Firenze (sempre in 3 voll.), con il titolo "Ornitologia italiana", a cura del figlio Adolfo. [''Ornitologia italiana'' (opera postuma) Firenze :Successori Le Monnier, 1873-1876
onlineonline at BHL
*''Sul Mischio di Serravezza'' (Nuovo Giornale d. Lett., XX, Pisa 1830);
*''Catalogo ragionato di una collezione geognostica contenente le rocce più caratteristiche della formazione del Macigno della Toscana, quelle di trabocco, cioè Dolomitiche, Porfiriche e Granitiche le quali hanno disordinato le stratificazioni delle prime e quelle alterate dal contatto delle straboccate'' (ibid., 1830);
*''Carta geologica dei Monti Pisani levata dal vero'' (Pisa 1832);
*''Tagli geologici delle Alpi Apuane e del Monte pisano e cenno sull’isola d’Elba'' (Nuovo Giornale d. Lett., XXVI, 1833);
*''Sulla miniera di ferro dell’ Isola d'Elba'' (ibid., XXXI, 1835);
* (ibid., XXXIV e XXXV, 1837);
*''Sui vari sollevamenti e abbassamenti che hanno dato alla Toscana l’attuale configurazione'' (ibid., XXXV, 1837);
''Del carbon fossile in Italia. Estratto dalla Memoria sulla Scorza del Globo Terrestre, del prof. P. Savi''
Annali universali di statistica economia pubblica, storia, viaggi e commercio (1838 apr, Serie 1, Volume 56, Fascicolo 166)
*''Delle rocce ofiolitiche della Toscana e delle masse metalliche in esse contenute'' (ibid., 1839);
*''Sopra i carboni fossili dei terreni miocenici della Maremma Toscana'' (Pisa 1843);
*''Considerazioni geologiche sull' Appennino Pistoiese'' (Firenze 1845);
*''Sulla catena metallifera delle Alpi Apuane e sulla costituzione geologica dei Monti Pisani'' (Pisa 1846);
*''Considerazioni sulla geologia della Toscana'', in collaborazione con G. Meneghini (Firenze 1851);
*''Saggio sulla costituzione geologica della Provincia di Pisa'' (Statist. della provincia di Pisa, Pisa 1863).
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Savi, Paolo
1798 births
1871 deaths
People from Pisa
Italian zoologists
Italian ornithologists
19th-century Italian geologists