Libri di Lucia Raggetti

Aldrovandiana. Historical Studies in Natural History is a scientific journal dedicated to the study of natural history from antiquity to the twentyfirst century. The journal’s namesake is owed to the 16th century naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi, whose study of the natural world was characterized by a unique combination of empirical curiosity and a search for comprehensiveness. Inspired by the Aldrovandi’s global perspective, the founders of the journal seek to consider “natural history” in its broadest sense, and within the entirety of the Mediterranean world, including the Nearand Middle-Eastern regions. Aldrovandiana offers a space dedicated to interdisciplinarity and exchange between early-career scholars and senior researchers. Aldrovandiana is a biannual, peer-reviewed, and open access journal that publishes contributions in both Italian and English, granting ample space to illustrations and images.

Aldrovandiana. Historical Studies in Natural History is a scientific journal dedicated to the study of natural history from antiquity to the twentyfirst century. The journal’s namesake is owed to the 16th century naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi, whose study of the natural world was characterized by a unique combination of empirical curiosity and a search for comprehensiveness. Inspired by the Aldrovandi’s global perspective, the founders of the journal seek to consider “natural history” in its broadest sense, and within the entirety of the Mediterranean world, including the Nearand Middle-Eastern regions. Aldrovandiana offers a space dedicated to interdisciplinarity and exchange between early-career scholars and senior researchers. Aldrovandiana is a biannual, peer-reviewed, and open access journal that publishes contributions in both Italian and English, granting ample space to illustrations and images.

La natura è rappresentata sin dall’antichità come un’intricata rete di relazioni tra i diversi elementi che la compongono: minerali, piante e animali sono dotati di proprietà utili e misteriose che l’uomo può sfruttare a suo vantaggio. La cultura arabo-islamica si iscrive in questa tradizione, ricevendo dal mondo tardoantico un’eredità multiculturale che sarà riorganizzata, ampliata e adattata a nuove esigenze, tra empirismo e tradizione letteraria. I prodigiosi effetti che derivano da una sapiente manipolazione della natura possono essere impiegati nel campo della farmacologia, in molte forme d’artigianato, nell’agricoltura ma anche volti all’intrattenimento e alla frode. Questo libro è dedicato al risvolto giocoso, meraviglioso e a volte fraudolento della “scienza delle proprietà”. L’ampia antologia di fonti arabe offre uno spaccato vivace di questo sapere condiviso, delle credenze popolari, delle aspirazioni collettive e della vita quotidiana nelle strade delle metropoli del Vicino Oriente Islamico tra il dodicesimo e il quindicesimo secolo.