The Italian Chemical Literature LEO J . STEVENS
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Smith, Kline & French Laboratories, Philadelphia, Pa.
The Italian chemical literature, though an important source of information, has found only a limited interest among American chemists. This is in part explainable by the linguistic barriers, and by the fact that it has suffered from a lack of centralized documentation and indexing in Italy. Italian chemical literature seems sure to become of increasing importance to the American chemist.
The Italian chemical literature deserves more attention than it receives from American chemists. I t is true, of course, that i n scope, in importance, and in volume i t is led by the liberature written in English, German, Russian, and French. I t is also true that i t is not as accessible as it might be (although a considerable part of it may be found abstracted in Chemical Abstracts) and that it has, until recent years, suffered from a certain lack of centralized documentation and indexing in Italy. When one adds to these handicaps the fact that a reading knowledge of Italian is not nearly so widespread among American chemists as a reading knowledge of German and French, one can readily understand why the Italian chemical literature gets scant attention. Y e t i t deserves more, for its history is long, its present is impressive, and its future seems bound to become increasingly i m portant to the American chemist.
Universities and Societies
The scientific literature of any country has always depended to a great extent on the progress of scientific education and on the effectiveness and prestige of its central research organizations and professional societies. Italy, from medieval times, has had several outstanding universities. Today, more than 20 state universities teach chemistry, pharmacy, and the biological sciences. T h e University of Rome, Italy's largest (40,000 students) and perhaps most important u n i versity, was founded i n 1303. T h e large (15,000 students) and distinguished University of Bologna was founded i n 1088. M i l a n (1853) and T u r i n (1906) are the homes of two technical universities where chemistry is taught (8). The central research organization of Italy is the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (or C N R ) i n Rome. Founded i n 1923, this important source of scientific documentation publishes a comprehensive and well-organized index, the Indice di periodici scientifici e tecnici, and a periodical, La ricerca scientifica. T h e Società Chimica Italiana, founded i n Rome i n 1919, the representative Italian chemical society, also has made important con tributions to scientific literature, presently publishing the Gazzetta chimica italiana and the Annali di chimica. The Società Italiana per i l Progresso delle Scienze, organized i n 1839 i n Rome, publishes Scienza e tecnica. I n Naples the Società Italiana d i Biologia Sperimentale is associated with an important biological and pharmacological periodical, the BoUettino delta Società Italiana di Biologia Sperimentale; however, the latter is actuall published b y the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. 500
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Finally, there is the Istituto Superiore di Sanità i n Rome, one of the most active and important research groups i n Italy. Headed b y M a r o t t a , i t maintains laboratories for organic, therapeutic, and biological chemistry, microbiology, parasitology, and other sciences. Scientists of international reputation, such as D . Bovet and many others, are on its staff. Since 1937 the institute has published the Rendiconti istitiUo superiore di sanità.
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History of Journals The birth of the modern Italian literature of chemistry is usually thought to have occurred i n 1871, the year when the Gazzetta chimica italiana was first published. A c tually, the origin is of a much earlier date. I n 1846 Francesco Selmi (1817-81), an inor ganic chemist, pharmacist, and toxicologist at the University of Bologna, published the Annuario chimico italiano, presumably the first modern chemical publication i n Italian. In his preface to the Annuario, Selmi told of some of the difficulties that accompanied such an undertaking (22, 25). H e also defined the purpose of the publication: " I t is the aim of the Annuario to assemble the scattered papers of the Italian chemists and to dem onstrate the actual condition of the science within the peninsula." Other Italian chemical or related journals appeared prior to the Gazzetta. I n the Atti delta reale accademia nazionale dei Lincei (founded b y Federico Cesi i n 1603) chemical papers were published b y 1847, i n one of its first series (4). T h e Giornale difarrnacia, di chimica e di scienze affini was published from 1851 until 1936; and the Bollettino chimico farmaceutico, first published in M i l a n i n 1861, is still published today. I n historical per spective, then, the Italian chemical literature is older than the American, the American Chemist having been first published in 1870 and the Journal of the American Chemical Society in 1876. Although the Gazzetta chimica italiana is not the oldest Italian chemical journal, i t is by far the most important. Following the complete political unification of Italy, there was a growing realization that Italian chemists needed a new chemical journal com parable to the leading chemical journals of Germany and other European countries. Stanislao Cannizzaro (1826-1910) was asked to be its editor. H i s activities as organic chemist and as teacher at several Italian universities, especially at Palermo and Rome, had made him at that time the only chemist i n Italy with an international reputation. B u t Cannizzaro had little faith i n the future of the proposed journal and therefore was reluctant to accept its editorship. Another chemist d i d accept, however. H e was Emanuele Paternô (1847-1935), also a teacher at Palermo and Rome. H i s main fields of interest were physical and inorganic chemistry. Paterno devoted much of his life to the Gazzetta. U n t i l 1881 he published abstracts of foreign papers i n i t . Then he started, and continued for six years, a separate abstract journal, the Appendice alla gazzetta chimica italiana. A t present abstracts are once more published i n the Gazzetta. Another change occurred i n 1914, when papers on applied chemistry were excluded from the Gazzetta and included i n a new journal, the Annali di chimica. The Gazzetta now covers the whole field of pure chemistry, with organic chemistry predominating. I n Boig and Howerton's statistical articles on the history and development of periodicals devoted to analytical and organic chemistry (2), Gazzetta ranked side b y side with the well known Annalen der Chemie and Monatsheftefur Chemie. In 1951 Chemical Abstracts listed about 300 Italian journals of chemistry and the related sciences. The following are a few of the more important ones: Annali di chimica. A n organ of the Italian Chemical Society, primarily concerned with organic chemistry, this journal was known as the Annali di chimica applicata before 1950. Archivio italiano di scienze farmacologiche. A n important pharmacological journal. Archivio di fisiologia. A very good journal (50 years of publication), edited i n F l o r ence, covering the fields of pure physiology and biology. Bollettino délia società italiana di biologia speiimentale. Important i n biology, physiol ogy, and pharmacology and published under this name since 1927. La chimica e I'industria ( M i l a n ) . A journal corresponding to the British publication LITERATURE RESOURCES Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1954.
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Chemistry and Industry and the French Chimie et Industrie, it has appeared since 1919 and is edited by the Associazione Italiana di Chimica. Rassegna chimica deWindustria e dei professionisti chimici. Before 1950 this journal was known as Rassegna chimica. M o s t of its published papers concern industrial and applied chemistry. La ricerca scientifica. Published by the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Rome, this journal covers miscellaneous fields of science. Scientia (Milan). Rivista internazionale di sintesi scientifica. A journal covering science in general, with articles in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish.
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II farmaco, edizione scientifica and // farmaco, edizione pratica, known as II farma
scievza e tecnica before January 1953. Although this last journal is only 7 years old, it has gained considerable importance owing to the inclusion of high-quality papers (mostly medicinal chemistry, drug action, etc.). In fact, a good part of the recent research carried out in the laboratories of the leading pharmaceutical manufacturers in Italy finds publication in II farmaco. The journal is published by the School of Pharmacy of the University of Pavia and is promoted by Carlo E r b a , D r . Recordati, Farmitalia, Lepetit, Maggioni and Co., and Laboratorio Zambeletti. II farmaco carries its own set of ab stracts. The great number of Italian medical journals, some very important, cannot be dis cussed in this paper. M a n y of them are abstracted in Chemical Abstracts.
Reference Books As for dictionaries of the Italian language, the "Vocabolario della Lingua I t a l i a n a , " compiled by Nicola Zingarelli (31) may be recommended. A n important Italian-English dictionary (they are few and not always satisfactory) is that of Lysle-Gualtieri, the " N u o v o Dizionario Moderno delle Lingue Italiana e Inglese" (17). Unfortunately, there are no Italian-English chemical dictionaries, as Singer has pointed out (27), although one would be most useful. Therefore, the chemist searching the Italian chemical literature has to seek other tools. For example, while there is no Italian-English chemical dictionary, several exist for Italian-German. Of these, the one of Bulle and Rigutini, "Dizionario Italiano-Tedesco e Tedesco-Italiano"(S), and that of Giua and Giua-Lollini, "Dizionario Tedesco Italiano di Chimica e Scienze Α π ™ " (13), and Rossi's "Dizionario Tecnico Tedesco-Italiano e Italiano-Tedesco con Particolare Riguardo alia Chimica e Merceologia" (24) are very helpful. Also, Dorrer's "Dizionario Tascabile delle Lingue Tedesca e Italiana per l ' l n dustria C h i m i c a " (6) should be mentioned. A somewhat unique Italian dictionary should not be overlooked. This is Testi's "Dizionario di Chimica Antiquaria e di A l c h i m i a " (28), listing terms used in medieval alchemy. Finally, two small dictionaries are worth mentioning: Denti's "Dizionario Tecnico Italiano-Inglese, Inglese-Italiano" (5) and Marolli's "Dizionario Tecnico, Inglese-Italiano, Italiano-Inglese" (19). These are more technical than chemical dictionaries.
Indexes, Encyclopedias The foremost Italian scientific index is the Indice di periodici scientifici e tecnici of the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. It has appeared since 1948 under the editorship of G . Borghi and is divided into eleven independent parts, of which chemistry is Part I V and medicine-biology-psychology is Part V . This comprehensive index lists and anno tates the Italian and foreign literature. Very recently, the " G u i d a Bibliografica Inter nazionale per il Chimico. L i b r i e R i v i s t e " by Nerio Gaudenzi (11) appeared. This is a very complete index of international chemical literature, dictionaries, encyclopedias, texts, handbooks, etc. The use of the index is explained i n four languages (Italian, French, English, and German) ; however, the index itself is written i n Italian. Among others, three Italian encyclopedias of chemistry should be mentioned : first, the "Dizionario di Chimica Générale e I n d u s t r i a l , Chimica Agraria, Biologica, Bromatologica, Farmaceutica, Geologica, Mineralogica, Tecnologica, Tossicologica" by G i u a and LITERATURE RESOURCES Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1954.
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Giua-Lollini (12). There are three volumes, alphabetically arranged. Second, the com prehensive encyclopedic dictionary of Villavecchia, "Dizionario d i Merceologia e d i C h i mica A p p l i c a t a " (29). I t covers applied chemistry and merceologia, or the study of natu ral sciences. T h i r d , Longhini's "Piccola Enciclopedia chimica per domande e risposte" (16). Its format is made up i n the form of questions and answers. Another useful reference is the Italian pharmacopoeia (14), "Farmacopea Ufficiale." Very important is Fumi's "Repertorio Terapeutico Elenco Générale delle Specialità M e d i c i n a l i " (9). Its text consists of two parts. One, corresponding to the American " R e d B o o k " of drugs, is a compilation of all drugs, medicinal specialities, etc., that have been marketed i n Italy, with their retail prices, sales forms, etc. The other part contains data on the chemical composition, therapeutic indications, and manufacturers of the drugs listed. There is no specific text that can be used as reference for Italian chemical patents. Moreover, because certain changes are being considered, the Italian patent law, based on the process-patent conception, is at present i n a state of transition. Generally, Italian patents do not assume the importance of United States, British, or German patents.
Abstracts, Textbooks, and Treatises There are no centralized Italian chemical abstracts of the nature of Chemical Abstracts or Chemische Zentralblatt. However, several chemical periodicals have their own abstract ing services, of which those appearing i n the Gazzetta, Bollettino chimico farmaceutico, and II farmaco are most important. Of the many chemical, pharmacological, and other texts, treatises, and handbooks written i n Italian, only a few can be discussed. T h e little text of Vouch, "Costanti Fisico-Chimiche d i Oltre 1300 Composti Organici" (80) is a useful compilation of organic compounds, listing physical constants such as melting points, and boiling points. M a r i n i Bettolo's "Reazioni Organiche" (18) deals with organic-synthetic reactions and prepara tions. Its author is an organic chemist associated with Bovet at the Istituto Superiore di Sanità. The well-known text of Karrer, " L e h r b u c h der organischen Chemie," has been translated into Italian, and is as widely used i n Italy as i t is elsewhere (IS). Gabba and Molinari's " M a n u a l e del chimico" (10) is comparable to English handbooks such as the "Handbook of Chemistry and Physics." Barbieri's "Enciclopedia-Ricettario" (1) contains 10,000 formulas and procedures. Four very good Italian textbooks of pharma cology are Meneghetti's " L e z i o n i d i Farmacologia" (20), Mascherpa's " T r a t t a t o d i Farmacologia e Farmacognosia" (26), Simon's " T r a t t a t o d i Farmacologia" (7), and E r s pamer's " L e z i o n i d i Farmacologia." Of biochemistry texts, that of Rondoni, "Elementi di Biochimica" (23), is widely used.
Language Difficulties Italian has its peculiarities, problems, and pitfalls, but unfortunately there is little opportunity for the English-speaking chemist to become aware of them. I t is a rare curriculum that includes a course i n scientific Italian. Although the scope of this paper does not permit a discussion of translation problems, a mention of a few of the peculiarities may prove instructive. Often one will find i n an Italian scientific text the letters A A . , usually preceded by an article—e.g., gli A A . This abbreviation means gli autovi, or the authors. Some general rules will facilitate the reading of chemical Italian, as there are simi larities i n spelling of chemical names and nomenclature used. F o r example, a chemical compound spelled i n English with a y is written i n Italian with the letter i. The ζ i n English often corresponds to a double ζ i n Italian; also the letter t of the English version corresponds to a ζ i n Italian. Thus, pyrrone is pirone and polymerization is polimerizzazione. Names of elements, such as palladium, are similarly written in Italian, as palladio. Chemical words starting with an h i n English are written without it i n Italian—e.g., hydrogénation is idrogenazione. Alcohol is alcool or akole; ether is etere and so forth. The melting point (abbreviated m. p.) finds its Italian counterpart in punto difusione LITERATURE RESOURCES Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1954.
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(abbreviated p. /.) ; decomposition in melting is usually abbreviated as con dec. The boiling point (b. p.) is punto d1 ebollizione (p. e.). A water bath is referred to in Italian as bagnomaria (corresponding to the French word bainmarie). Acknowledgment The author is indebted to Vittorio Erspamer, University of Bari, for making available otherwise inaccessible Italian references.
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Literature Cited (1) Barbieri, "Enciclopedia-Ricettario," 2nd ed., Milan, Ulrico Hoepli, 1951. (2) Boig, F. S., and Howerton, P. W., "History and Development of Chemical Periodicals in the Field of Organic Chemistry, 1877-1949," Science, 115, 25-31 (1952); "Chemical Periodicals in the Field of Analytical Chemistry," Ibid., 115, 555-60 (1952). (3) Bulle and Rigutini, "Dizionario Italiano-Tedesco e Tedesco-Italiano," Vol. II, 8th ed., Milan, Ulrico Hoepli, and Leipzig, Bernhard Tauchnitz, 1900. (4) Crane, E. J., and Patterson, A. M., "Guide to the Literature of Chemistry," p. 48, New York, John Wiley & Sons, 1927. (5) Denti, "Dizionario Tecnico Italiano-Inglese, Inglese-Italiano," Milan, Ulrico Hoepli, 1946. (6) Dorrer, "Dizionario Tascabile delle Lingue Tedesca e Italiana per l'Industria Chimica," Milan, Tamburini, 1943. (7) Erspamer, V., "Lezioni di Farmacologia," 2nd ed., Bolzano, G. Presel, 1952. (8) Europa Publications, Ltd., London, "The Encyclopaedia of Europe," 1952. (9) Fumi, "Repertorio Terapeutico Elenco Generale delle Specialità Medicinali," 5th ed., Milan, Aracne editrice, 1952. (10) Gabba and Molinari, "Manuale del Chimico," 2 vols., Milan, Ulrico Hoepli, 1948, 1949. (11) Gaudenzi, Nerio, "Guida Bibliografica Internazionale per il Chimico. Libri e Riviste," Florence, Sansoni Edizioni Scientifiche, 1952. (12) Giua, M., and Giua-Lollini, C., "Dizionario di Chimica Generale e Industriale, Chimica Agraria, Biologica, Bromatologica, Farmaceutica, Geologica, Mineralogica, Tecnologica, Tossico logica," Turin, Unione Tipografico, 1948-50. (13) Giua, M., and Giua-Lollini, C., "Dizionario Tedesco Italiano di Chimica e Scienze Affini," 4th ed., Turin, Rosenberg and Sellier, 1945. (14) Istituto Poligrafico dello Stato, Rome, "Farmacopea Ufficiale," 6th ed., 1950. (15) Karrer, P., "Lehrbuch der organischen Chemie" ("Trattato di Chimica Organica"), Florence, Sansoni, 1942. (16) Longhini, S., "Piccola Enciclopedia Chimica per Domande e Risposte," Milan, Garzanti, 1950. (17) Lysle-Gualtieri, "Nuovo Dizionario Moderno delle Lingue Italiana e Inglese," Vol. I, IngleseItaliano, Vol. II. Italiano-Inglese, Turin, Libreria Editrice F. Casanova, 1951. (18) Marini-Bettolo, G. B., "Reazioni Organiche," Florence, Sansoni, 1951. (19) Marolli, "Dizionario Tecnico, Inglese-Italiano, Italiano-Inglese," Florence, Felice le Monnier, 1950. (20) Mascherpa, "Trattato di Farmacologia e Farmacognosia," 2nd ed., Milan, Ulrico Hoepli, 1949. (21) Meneghetti, "Lezioni di Farmacologia", Padova, Cedam, 1952. (22) Provencal, "Profili Biobibliografici di Chimici Italiani, "Sec. XV-XIX, p. xiii, Rome, Istituto Nazionale Medico Farmacologico Serono, 19-. (23) Rondoni, "Elementi di Biochimica", 6th ed., Turin, Utet, 1951. (24) Rossi, "Dizionario Technico Tedesco-Italiano e Italiano-Tedesco con Particolare Riguardo alla Chimica e Merceologia," Milan, Ulrico Hoepli, 1935, 1950. (25) Selmi, F., Annuar. chim. ital., 1, xxii, Reggio (1846). (26) Simon, "Trattato di Farmacologia," 2nd ed., Turin, Utet, 1947. (27) Singer, T. E. R., Chem. Inds., 45, 417-21 (1939). (28) Testi, "Dizionario de Chimica Antiquaria e di Alchimia," Rome, Mediterranea, 1950. (29) Villavecchia, G. V., "Dizionario di Merceologia e di Chimica Applicata," 4 vols., 5th ed., Milan, Ulrico Hoepli, 1949. (30) Vouch, G., "Costanti Fisico-Chimiche di Oltre 1300 Composti Organici," Milan, Ulrico Hoepli, 1951. (31) Zingarelli, Nicola, "Vocabolario della Lingua Italiana," 7th ed., Bologna, Nicola Zanichelli, 1951. RECEIVED June 15, 1953. Presented before the Division of Chemical Literature, at the 123rd Meeting of the
AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, LOS Angeles, Calif
LITERATURE RESOURCES Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1954.
