Science Fiction in Naples in the Middle of the 19th Century

Abstract

Astronomer, intellectual, passionate patriot, and refined humanist, Ernesto Capocci Belmonte (Picinisco, May 31, 1798 — Naples, January 6, 1864) was a prominent figure of the scientific, cultural, and political life in Naples around the middle of the 19th century. He acquired international recognition for his studies on the orbits of comets and, since 1833, he was named director of the newly built Osservatorio Astronomico in Capodimonte: A prestigious position that he lost for political retaliation as a result of his participation in the movement against the Bourbon rulers in 1848, but which he regained in 1860 upon the arrival in Naples of Giuseppe Garibaldi. An intuitive and openminded scholar, he looked always at the contemporary experiences in Europe and, as a scientist and cultivated human being, he sought to serve the community by enthusiastically devoting himself also to education and public outreach. He developed clear interests in literature and, as a forerunner, he dared to tackle the genre of science fiction. His short novel Relazione del viaggio alla Luna fatto da una donna nell’anno di grazia 2057 (Report of the Trip to the Moon done by a Woman in the Year of our Lord 2057), written in the period ofhis exile from the Observatory and practically given up as lost until a private copy was found in the library of one of Capocci’s descendants, offers an interesting overview of astronomical knowledge and taste for the elegance in writing, and gives an unusual, and often ironic, viewpoint on the situation of sciences in Naples in the middle of the 19th century.