THE METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY "PIETRO MONTE" AND ITS HISTORICAL, SCIENTIFIC AND DIDACTIC IMPORTANCE

The aim of this work is to present the cultural heritage and importance of the "Pietro Monte" meterological observatory. In 1856, the Barnabite Father Pietro Monte (1823-1888) founded a meteorological observatory in Leghorn (Tuscany). Tuscany is in the central part of Italy and can be considered the birthplace of meteorology. In the 17th century, the first meteorological instruments were created and the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinando II de 'Medici, made the first attempt to create a European meteorological network, the so called "Rete Medicea". Having already developed a strong interest in weather science, when the young Father Pietro Monte arrived in Leghorn, he set up a weather station near the Church of San Sebastiano. In 1862 the Meteorological Observatory was transferred to the Royal High School, today's High School 'ISIS Niccolini-Palli'. Here Pietro Monte built a more efficient laboratory where he collected and verified a large number of observations that were then published in the local journal and sent to Ufficio Centrale di Ecologia Agraria di Roma (UCEA). After his death, the observatory was managed by the teachers of the "Istituto Nautico" and by the municipality until 1998. In 2003, after a period of inactivity, monitoring was resumed by the "Centro di Meteorologia Marina e Monitoraggio Ambientale del Mediterraneo" (CoMMA-Med by IBIMET, Tuscany region and Leghorn province). In 2007, all the historical archives of the Meteorological observatory "Pietro Monte" were reproduced using digital photography. Digitization and storage of these datasets in an electronic format is already in place in collaboration with the students of the Istituto Tecnico Nautico "A. Cappellini". The management and the analysis of such an important historical archive can also be a powerful training environment for students wishing to experience meteorological studies.