Linnaeus in Italy, The Spread of a Revolution in Science

...With the coexistence of such contrasting and highly differentiated cultural and political currents in a territory linked albeit in a somewhat unhomogenous manner by a single language, Italy constitutes a perfect microcosm of the main intellectual currents present in 18th century Europe and from this historical perspective a significant case study in the complex dynamics that shaped the reception, influence and appropriation of the Linnaean revolution. In particular, it illustrates the process by which the works of a devotedly Protestant scientist gradually conquered a country that was, at least in appearance, devotedly Catholic. As emerges clearly from the overview provided by the essays published here, Linnaeus theories found both solid support and clamorous denial, underlining the subterranean mélange of personal, political, cultural and religious motives that influenced the diffusion of the new natural sciences as conceived by Linnaeus in Systema naturae.... From the preface.