Giuseppe Maria Giovene (23 January 1753 – 2 January 1837) was an Italian archpriest, naturalist, agronomist, geologist, meteorologist, entomologist and ichthyologist.elogio-giovene, pag. 3elogio-storico, pag. 9, note 8 He is best known for his studies on the "nitrosity" of Pulo di Molfetta, which made him famous abroad, so as to be cited and appreciated by many Italian and foreign scholars, including Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimmermann in a French publication.
His scientific research, mainly focused agronomy, botany and meteorology, were not just theoretical and aimed at the mere research of natural phenomena, but their goal was to develop and improve agriculture in the Kingdom of Naples; this was a common feature of the scientific works of the earliest scientists of the Kingdom of Naples. He was member of many academies, among which the Società italiana delle scienzeelogio-storico, pag. 2 and, because of his being a polymath, he's been described as an "encyclopaedic mind".elogio-storico, pag. 30
He was also a clergyman, and he held many important positions, including those of archpriest and apostolic vicar.elogio-storico, pag. 18elogio-giovene, pagg. 18, note I and pag. 19 He also became interested in numismatics, and he collected ancient coins and medallions, and he also possessed a collection of ancient Italo-Greek vases (called etruschi).elogio-giovene, pag. 20necrologio-giovene, pag. 49 He was also a spirit devoted to charity and modesty, so much that sometimes he preferred not to publish his articles, which were published by his colleagues, such as abbot Ciro Saverio Minervini.elogio-giovene, pag. 23elogio-giovene, pag. 11 – "strappatagli, dir puossi di mano nel 1789 dal rinomato abate Minervini, stampata venne in Napoli,..."
He was one of the first scientists of Apulia and he exhibited remarkable scientific skills, helping to eradicate "the prejudice against the good Apulian people of their being lazy and ignorant."elogio-giovene, pag. 10 His research activity was carried out using modern methods of observation and experimentation, "following the maxims of Galileo". "He liked to read the observations carried out by others, but he also liked to see the whole procedure with his own eyes".elogio-storico, pag. 10
Life Early life Giuseppe Maria Giovene was born in Molfetta on 23 January 1753, son to Giovanni Giovene and Antonia Graziosi.elogio-storico, pagg. 2-3 His father, before dying, entrusted him to the bishop of Molfetta Celestino Orlandi,necrologio-giovene, pag. 35 who instructed him up to the age of 8 and subsequently he studied with Jesuit clerics, who then lived in the Gran Collegio di Molfetta. Giovene studied there until the age of 12. In 1766, he went to Rome where he was admitted to the Jesuit novitiate, although he wasn't old enough, but after only eight months the Jesuit order was suppressed and the Jesuits expelled from the Kingdom of Naples. Giovene wanted to follow the Jesuits abroad but he couldn't because of an illness.elogio-storico, pagg. 3-4
During his childhood, he showed he did not love "juvenile amusements" and he preferred to adiscuss with learned men. When he returned to Molfetta after recovering from his illness, he studied philosophy and mathematics in the seminary of Molfetta under the direction of bishop Celestino Orlandi. Among other things he also studied law, and, as a boy, he began to show a predisposition for the natural sciences. He went to Naples, when he was only a cleric, and was recommended to Ciro Saverio Minervininecrologio-giovene, pag. 36 and there he met learned and famous naturalists, such as Vincenzo Petagna. He also loved to discuss with his fellow citizens and naturalists, Giuseppe Saverio Poli and Ciro Saverio Minervini.
Return to Molfetta In 1773, he returned to Molfetta,necrologio-giovene, pag. 37 and the bishop of Molfetta who had instructed him, Celestino Orlandi, wanted him to become a priest of the parish of the Church of Saint Stephen, in Molfetta. Despite Giovene's resistance, the bishop eventually forced him to participate in the parish priest's selection contest, which Giovene won. At that moment, however, Celestino Orlandi, his childhood tutor, died, and at that time he wrote the funeral praise Orazione pei solenni funerali di D. Celestino Orlandi (1775).orazione-orlandielogio-storico, pagg. 4-5
In the meantime, Gennaro Antonucci was appointed as new bishop of Molfetta, who wanted him to be his apostolic vicar, probably because of his fame or his experience. Meanwhile, Giovene did not despise to help the poor, orphans, offering them free legal advice to protect against the abuses of the powerful. At that time, he was also in charge of teaching law at the Molfetta seminary. In order to become a vicar, he had to be a graduate, and thus he went to Naples to fulfill his duties. Once there, he took the chance to discuss with the scholars about art and natural history. Despite his many commitments, he always found time to devote himself to natural history. He was also appointed archpriest of the former Molfetta Cathedral.
The year 1799 During the Parthenopean Republic (1799), Giovene's friend Giuseppe Saverio Poli followed king Ferdinand IV of Naples to Sicily, and he entrusted to Giovene his house, his library, his tools and everything he owned. Giovene could not prevent the depredation made by force by some pro-French officers of the short-lived Parthenopean Republic. Many rare samples of natural history, such as "the wax tablets of the testaceous", ended up in the Paris Academy of Sciences.necrologio-giovene, pag. 45
The vicariate in Lecce and his return to Molfetta His fame reached as far as pope Pius VII, who chose him for the diocese of Lecce. Giovene did not want to accept that further burden, but his refusal was not considered, thus he was appointed apostolic vicar of Lecce from about 1806 to 1816.elogio-storico, pagg. 21-22 In this period, he was also appointed capitular vicar of Otranto and Oria and he turned out to rule over most of the churches in the Province of Lecce.necrologio-giovene, p. 46
In 1817, he returned to Molfetta, wishing to be able to enjoy a quiet, peaceful life, but he was immediately assigned new tasks. He was also apostolic vicar of the bishop of Molfetta Gennaro Antonucci, successor to the bishop Celestino Orlandi.elogio-giovene, pag. 18
Alongside the study of science, he also cultivated numismatics, collecting coins and medallions of all kinds, and he also collected ancient Italo-Greek vases (called "Etruscan"), apparently not for vanity, but for historical purposes. He also wrote poetry and wrote in Latin.elogio-giovene, pagg. 12-13 He also taught experimental physics, law and sacred liturgy in the seminary of Molfetta.
In particular, Giovene could use, during the teachings of experimental physics, the many tools provided by his friend Giuseppe Saverio Poli. His students also held a demonstration in the large courtyard of the bishop's palace and seminary of Molfetta, during which experiments were conducted relating to electricity, air, gas, during which the use of pneumatic and electric tools aroused the curiosity of people of any kind. The experiments conducted by the students of Giovene were not even conducted by the local university at that time. This helped to increase the prestige of the seminary.elogio-giovene, pagg. 18-19
Last years In 1820, he was also appointed member of the newly born constitutional parliament of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies for a few months.memorie-storiche-1844, pag. 151necrologio-giovene-2, pag. 160 Even in the last decade of his life he kept on being updated and reading books and newspapers. During this time, he became deaf, which made it difficult for him to communicate with others; moreover he began to suffer from paralysis to the bladder and the cataract came him to his left eye.necrologio-giovene, pag. 50 For this reason he had to be helped to know the progress of the sciences and letters.elogio-giovene, pag. 25
He also wrote a few books about religion and in addition, in the last part of his life, he was asked by the bishop of Molfetta Caracciolo to write a hagiography on Saint Conrad of Bavaria, protector of his hometown Molfetta. In order to write the book, he had to consult medieval sources and, in order to do so, he went to northern Italy and Germany.elogio-storico, pagg. 28 Pope Gregory XVI read his book and liked it, and thanks to this, Molfetta was granted the official recognition of the cult of Saint Conrad of Bavaria, which had already started in the XII century". His book on the saint also became famous in Germany.elogio-giovene, pagg. 13-14
He died in Molfetta on January 2, 1837. His last words were: "Leave me alone with my God."elogio-giovene, pag. 24 With a letter to his confessor and friend D. Paolo Rotondo, found after his death, forbade any funeral or funeral praises of any kind after his death,elogio-giovene, pag. 3, note 1 and he asked to be buried in Church of Saint Conrad of Bavaria. The funeral praise, however, was eventually read in the Church of Saint Conrad of Bavaria and it was printed in Naples by his grandnephew Luigi Marinelli Gioveneelogio-storico, pagg. 32-33 (who also reprinted most of his works in a collection of several volumes entitled Raccolta di tutte le opere del cav. Giuseppe Maria Giovene 1839–1841). In addition, Giovene himself wrote the epigraph of his own tomb before his death.elogio-storico, pag. 33, note 35
Scientific research The "natural nitrary" of Pulo di Molfetta
The name of Giuseppe Maria Giovene is inextricably linked to the discovery of the so-called "natural nitrary" (, which means a natural deposit of saltpetre) of Pulo di Molfetta.
In 1783, abbot Alberto Fortis visited Apulia in order to study the region, and Ciro Saverio Minervini appointed Giovene as Fortis' guide. On this occasion, Fortis and Giovene met,elogio-storico, pag. 8 and Giovene later told Alberto Fortis about a doline of that region called Pulo di Molfetta, in which Giovene believed that there was saltpetre. After an inspection, Fortis noted that Giovene had been right and that there was saltpetre in that doline.necrologio-giovene, pag. 39 According to other sources, however, Fortis and Giovene together discovered the "natural nitrary".elogio-storico, pag. 35 According to Zimmermann, the discovery was made by Alberto Fortis, and Giovene just told Fortis about Pulo di Molfetta and accompanied him.
The discovery also generated issues; in particular, the discovery was initially challenged by some scholars. Subsequently, chemist Giuseppe Vairo and his assistant Antonio Pitaro confirmed the discovery. This undoubtedly damaged producers of artificial saltpetre, and some scholars, most likely supported by the producers, tried to dismiss the discovery. Following the discovery, a large number of naturalists sent by academies from all Europe came to visit Pulo di Molfetta, since the saltpeter was a fundamental ingredient in the production of gunpowder and that these deposits were of considerable strategic interest.elogio-storico, pagg. 8-10
In particular, in a letter to Alberto Fortis dated 7 August 1784, Giovene refuted the idea of those who believed that the saltpetre of Pulo di Molfetta was due to some animals that once inhabited the doline. He also proved to be a talented chemist, and to be even more competent than the salt pans themselves, teaching them to correct the acidity of the ground (containing excessive amounts of "azotic acid") by adding plant ash.elogio-storico, pagg. 10
During a trip with his brother over Apulia, Giovene noted that saltpetre was abundant in other areas of Apulia. The trip, together with Giovene's observations were reported in the aforementioned letter of 7 August 1784.elogio-storico, pagg. 9-10
Agronomy and meteorology