Speaker
Description
The first observations were conducted in the second half of the 18th century by the vicar capitular of San Severo, Gaetano De Lucretiis (1745-1817), collaborator of Giuseppe Maria Giovene in the collection of meteorological data for Puglia. Fifty years later, the Economic Society of Foggia obtained royal authorization for the creation of the first meteorological observatory of the Kingdom. Unfortunately, for over thirty years it was unable to complete the project, despite the presence of experts and the purchase of instruments, due to obstacles placed by local administrations. However, archive documents allow us to reconstruct the market of meteorological instruments in the 19th century in the Kingdom of Naples: a little studied topic with regard to the situation of the peripheral areas of southern Italy. The first meteorological observatory was opened in 1876, two years after the one in Lecce and before the one in Bari, which dates back to 1884, and was directed by Vincenzo Nigri. The creation of the national meteorological network smoothed out bureaucratic difficulties and the Foggia administration began to perceive the advantages of maintaining a local center for the collection of meteorological data. The Nigri observatory was active until 2007. Since 2024 it has become a museum.
