Carlo Amoretti e le raccolte naturalistico-antiquarie tra Sette e Ottocento: incontri e scambi tra Lombardia e Veneto
Giovanni Truglia
This paper investigates the collecting notes in the writings of Carlo Amoretti (1741-1816), scholar, naturalist, and prominent figure in the cultural scene of Milan in the second half of the 18th century. In his numerous manuscripts, preserved at the Istituto Lombardo – Accademia di Scienze e Lettere in Milan, there are several references to private collections, mostly antiquarian and naturalistic, or to encounters with collectors and dealers (sometimes little known), whose most relevant pieces the scholar jotted down. On this side, the areas rich in information are Milan (and Lombardy), starting with the guide to the city that Amoretti gave to the press in 1778 and 1805, and Veneto, visited on several occasions by the scholar between 1790 and 1812, as evidenced by his travel diaries, some of the most relevant passages of which are proposed in the appendix. These accounts make it possible to explore avenues of research long neglected by studies on the 18th and 19th centuries, with a view to the close museographic relationship between antiquaria and naturalia.