Antonio Bertoloni was born in Sarzana the 12th Feb. 1775. Since ha was a boy he was interested in literature. He went to Pavia to attend the University. First he studied mathmatics, then medicine. He was obliged to leave Pavia and finished the University in Genoa. He came back to Sarzana where he was a doctor but soon he left this job and dedicated to teaching.

In 1815 he held the chair of physics at the University of Bologna and there he remained till his death, the 17th April 1869. In that period he kept on the passion that had interested him since he was young: botany. One of the most important researcher of this science was Carlo Linneo.

He often came back to Sarzana together with his best friend the Swiss Agostino De Candolle, also to study the mountain flora of Carpione but above all of Nuda. This last one, in fact, as it was formed of different rocks from the surrondings, it has become a botany isle and has preserved some endemisms.

His biggest work is the Flora Italica in ten volumes, written in latin, the official language of the Universities.

He was also interested in exotic plants that he received from his friends. His collections of samples are kept in the archive of the botanic garden of Bologna.
He is not only the most important italian botanist but also a great latinist and man of letters: an eclectic spirit.

On the façade of the house where he was born, the Town council, in 1901, has decided to put a memorial tablet above which there is a bas-relief of his figure. Also a street has been dedicated to him.

From “Appunti per una storia di Sarzana” Ennio Callegari.