BARLETTI, CARLO

BARLETTI, CARLO. – Sculptor physicist, born at Rocca Grimalda (Alessandria) on 22 May 1735, died at Pavia on 5 February 1800. After teaching physical sciences in various houses of Liguria and especially at the college of Milan, in 1772 he was appointed professor of experimental physics at the University of Pavia. In 1778, following VOLTA’s succession to that chair, BARLETTI moved to the chair of general physics and meteorology, which he held until his death. In the field of electricity, his merits are such that he may be ranked among the most renowned Italian scientists of the 18th century. He was an advocate of symmetrical electricity, and his learned experiments already foreshadowed FARADAY’s theory regarding the efficacy of insulators in electromagnetic induction phenomena. He published a noteworthy treatise on physics, though left unfinished, as well as many other interesting pamphlets and highly learned dissertations. He was among the founders of the Italian Society of Sciences, known as the Society of the Forty, and corresponded with the leading Italian scientists of his time.