The oil springs of Montegibbio, south of Modena, were known since the late Middle Ages. Locally known as “Olio di Sasso” (rock oil), since the XV century the oil was marketed for a long time throughout Europe because of its alleged medical properties, and many Authors celebrated its therapeutic virtues to heal eye and skin infections, rheumatism, arthritis, etc. Francesco Ariosto, a scholar and an official at the Este court of Ferrara, was the first one to write an essay on the rock oil of Montegibbio, handing it to a manuscript dated 1460, which was however printed only in 1690. Meanwhile, the rock oil of Montegibbio continued to attract interest in the field of both medical and natural sciences. Indeed, its production continued, although with many vicissitudes, until the first half of the XIX century, arousing the interest of numerous scientific investigators. With the birth of the modern oil industry, from 1860 onwards, the early geological exploration focused on the whole region of the Emilian Apennines, and the Montegibbio area was the subject of a careful exploration activity, unfortunately ended up without any remarkable industrial results.

La fortuna del petrolio di Montegibbio da Francesco Ariosto all’epoca moderna

Macini Paolo
Writing – Original Draft Preparation
;
Mesini Ezio
Supervision
2019

Abstract

The oil springs of Montegibbio, south of Modena, were known since the late Middle Ages. Locally known as “Olio di Sasso” (rock oil), since the XV century the oil was marketed for a long time throughout Europe because of its alleged medical properties, and many Authors celebrated its therapeutic virtues to heal eye and skin infections, rheumatism, arthritis, etc. Francesco Ariosto, a scholar and an official at the Este court of Ferrara, was the first one to write an essay on the rock oil of Montegibbio, handing it to a manuscript dated 1460, which was however printed only in 1690. Meanwhile, the rock oil of Montegibbio continued to attract interest in the field of both medical and natural sciences. Indeed, its production continued, although with many vicissitudes, until the first half of the XIX century, arousing the interest of numerous scientific investigators. With the birth of the modern oil industry, from 1860 onwards, the early geological exploration focused on the whole region of the Emilian Apennines, and the Montegibbio area was the subject of a careful exploration activity, unfortunately ended up without any remarkable industrial results.
2019
Macini Paolo; Mesini Ezio
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11585/711207
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