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In the second half of the Eighteenth century, a large number of physicists dealt with atmospheric phenomena. It was generally acknowledged that meteorological conditions could have a great influence on the life of humans and animals, as well as on the plant growth. A considerable amount of quantitative data was collected, using hygrometers, rain gauges, electrometers, etc. In Apulia, one of the first to develop these researches was the naturalist Giuseppe Maria Giovene (1753-1837). He published his data from 1788 to 1797. Giovene also tried to understand how some meteorological phenomena were generated, giving much importance to the effects of atmospheric electricity. In his work "Osservazioni elettrico-atmosferiche e barometriche insieme comparate" (Observations of atmospheric electricity compared with barometric ones), published in 1799, he illustrated the relationship that he identified between the intensity of atmospheric electricity and pressure variation. As Giuseppe Saverio Poli did, he found a correlation between electricity and magnetism in atmospheric phenomena. Giovene’s main merit was that he treated meteorology as a statistical science.
