Saverio Manetti

Saverio Manetti (1723-1785) was an Italian physician, botanist, and ornithologist. He wrote treatises on ornithology and a book on the natural history of birds called Ornithologia methodice digesta (Systematic Classification of Birds). His work includes many beautiful copperplate engravings of exotic birds that are highly valued not only for ornithological research but also as works of art.

Saverio Manetti Biography

• Born on November 12, 1723 in Florence, Italy.
• He studied medicine and botany at the University of Pisa, receiving his doctorate in medicine in 1745.
• He returned to Florence and worked as a doctor while also devoting himself to the study of botany and ornithology.
• From 1749 to 1782 he was director of the Florence Botanical Gardens.
• In 1767 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of London.
• In 1776, he published "Ornithologia methodice digesta" (Systematic classification of birds).
• He died in Florence on November 2, 1785 (aged 62).

Representative works

• "Ornithologia methodice digesta" (Systematic classification of birds) (1776)

Manetti's style and achievements

Manetti's Ornithologia methodice digesta is a monumental work of 18th-century ornithology , with over 600 hand-colored copperplate engravings by Lorenzo Lorenzi and Violante Vanni, which depict intricate and beautiful detail the morphology, coloration and ecology of birds.

Manetti used his knowledge and experience as a physician and botanist to write detailed descriptions of bird classification and ecology. The Ornithologia methodice digesta, which combined his scientific perspective with the outstanding technique of artists, made a great contribution to the development of ornithology.

Manetti was not only an ornithologist , but also an active member of the botany field, publishing papers on plant classification and cultivation. He was a scholar filled with passion and inquisitiveness for the natural sciences, and his achievements still provide many inspiration for us today.