San Marino. The story of the doctors Giuseppe Bergonzi, Antonio Michetti told in a book. The presentation on Sunday 11 September
The Secretariat of State for Culture and the Council of Castello di Borgo Maggiore invite you to present the book “A brief history of two doctors in San Marino: Giuseppe Bergonzi, Antonio Michetti“.
The book, written by Karen Venturini and Claudia Malpeli, will be presented Sunday 11 September at 17:00 at the Room of the Borgo Castle (piazza Mercatale n.21, Borgo Maggiore historic center).
The book published by Bookstones editions outlines the profile of two protagonists of our local history in the period between 1831 and 1905. It deals with Antonio Michetti and Giuseppe Bergonzitwo doctors who lived in Borgo Maggiore and who are remembered in the history of Italian medicine for the value of their scientific research and the profound political passion inspired by democratic and republican values.
Antonio Maria Michetti was born in San Marino in 1829 from a family of innkeepers. Thanks to the financial support of a patron and the Prince and Sovereign Council of San Marino, Michetti has the opportunity to study medicine at the University of Pisa and then in Bologna. His teachers are the illustrious names of nineteenth-century medical science: Francesco Puccinotti, Domenico Mieli, Maurizio Bufalini. Michetti is the first San Marino to obtain a degree in psychiatry. In 1872 he took over the direction of the San Benedetto asylum, succeeding Cesare Lombroso. Antonio Michetti will also be councilor, Captain Regent and consultant to the institutions for social projects with an innovative content.
Giuseppe Bergonzi was born in Casalgrande Reggiano in 1792 and died in San Marino in 1837. He studied at the medical faculty of the University of Bologna and is recognized as a refined scholar and an innovator in medical therapies. He too will take part in political life by participating in the insurrectional uprisings in Romagna in 1831. During the battle of Rimini he will flee to San Marino where he will be appointed primary doctor and will remain in exile until the year of his death.
The Secretary of State Andrea Belluzziin the preface to the text, he stated: “Claudia Malpeli and Karen Venturini, passionate about San Marino studies from different backgrounds, take us on a journey set in nineteenth-century San Marino. The biographies of two doctors, Antonio Michetti and Giuseppe Bergonzi, are the protagonists of this publication, told through the use of a literary fiction: in fact, the characters themselves tell their lives.
Against the backdrop of these lives, the nineteenth century, one of the most important periods of San Marino history for several reasons.
As Secretary of State for Culture I am delighted to have provided full support to this editorial project. I am convinced that the biographies of men serve to understand the most hidden nuances of history and this text allows us to explore a period of great turmoil in San Marino history, through the choices and work of two illustrious men, doctors in San Marino ”.
The Council of Castello di Borgo Maggiore wanted to carry out this editorial initiative. The Captain of the Castle, Barbara Bollini he has declared: “Borgo Maggiore is the main place where this historical novel is set. Precisely in the ancient market in the second half of the nineteenth century, new political and social instances arose which aimed at producing profound reforms of San Marino society and institutions.
Through the narration of the authors, the liveliness that characterized the village of the time, site of markets and fairs, a land of wineries, inns and caves, is evident. I express my sincere applause to the authors for their publication, hoping that this text can be an instrument for getting to know new aspects of the life of our Castle, especially for the younger generations “.
Citizenship is invited to participate.