The Beccari series of precipitation in Bologna, Italy, from 1723 to 1765

The precipitation record taken by J.B. Beccari in Bologna from 1723 to 1765, with three observations a day, has been recovered from the original Logs and analysed. Although metadata are scarce or even missing, a thorough investigation of the contemporary sources, the interactions between Beccari, his colleagues in Padua, and the Royal Society London, as well as the record analysis, have allowed reconstruction of most of the information concerning the instrument, its location and exposure, the measuring protocol and units. Daily, monthly and yearly amounts and frequencies, as well as extreme events, have been analysed. The first decade (i.e. 1723–1733) was drier than the 1961–1990 reference period and the subsequent decades wetter. During the calendar year, summer was dryer and October was characterized by a stronger activity of Atlantic perturbations.