Spallanzani e le arie infiammabili (1789-1793)

[Machine translation] The encounter between Lazzaro Spallanzani and chemistry is uncertain. When the study of minerals is added to the constellation of his investigations, the scientist places research on lava and the like at the center of the naturalistic mission in the Two Sicilies (1788) and makes the Pavia Naturalistic Museum rich in it, far beyond the standards of the time. But volcanoes (erupting or not) can become a creative gas laboratory and they produce the ideal fuel that fuels Spallanzani's new passion for pneumatic chemistry. In the story that the scientist will publish, the program is the study of 'natural' hydrogen, of that produced 'by art' ('metallic'), of elastic fluids obtained by fermentation, as well as the comparison with the 'flammable air of the swamps', identified by Alessandro Volta. The diaries of the experiences carried out in the summers between 1790 and 1793, however, detail, much better than the printed work, the procedures applied, the tools used and the results achieved. In fact, with the phases of the research, they clearly illustrate the fatigue of the journey and the intact enthusiasm of a scientist who, famous for his contributions in completely different contexts, does not hesitate to face an area where he discovers himself an amateur and becomes a professional.