DEL RICCO, GAETANO. — Scolopian, mathematician, b. in Florence on 3 June 1756, d. there on 4 February 1818. He studied mathematics under Fr. Canovai, with whom he later collaborated on mathematical works that brought their names renown throughout Italy and beyond. Appointed first director of the Ximenian Observatory in Florence, he immediately improved its conditions and oversaw its expansion.
DEL RICCO’s activity was more that of a scholar than of a scientist; he supervised the republication of several scientific works, such as Gardiner’s celebrated Tables and Marie’s Course of Mathematics, which he reorganized and enriched not only with numerous additions but also with entirely new treatises. Assisted by Canovai, he began astronomical works when he took on the young Scolopian Giovanni Inghiranni as a pupil and assistant. Recognizing the talent of this student, he prepared him thoroughly to succeed him, sending him to Milan to study under the Lombard astronomers Oriani and De Cesaris. DEL RICCO also shouldered various other responsibilities, particularly as provincial superior of Tuscany during the Napoleonic era, all of which he discharged with distinction, proving himself a model of the perfect Scolopian.