La storia degli studi nei gessi emiliano-romagnoli (XV-XIX secolo). Un primato mondiale

The article analyses, in a diachronic perspective, the history of the studies of Gypsum karst areas in Emilia-Romagna Region (Northern Italy), from its beginnings in the late 15th century to the 19th century. What emerges is a complex and interdisciplinary framework, in which some of the most important figures in the history of science (Georgius Agricola, Ulisse Aldrovandi, Luigi Ferdinando Marsili, Antonio Vallisneri, Lazzaro Spallanzani) stand out against the backdrop of the direct or indirect role played in this context by the University of Bologna, which was one of Europe’s leading academic institutions until the 19th century. The first investigations date back to the late 15th century, so Gypsum zones of the Emilia-Romagna were the first evaporitic outcrops studied in the world; analyses and publications have followed one another without interruption until today.