Travelling with instruments: Italian geologists in the field in the 18th and 19th centuries

Scientists who travelled often developed specific practices, which in many cases, were influenced by the use of measuring instruments. This is particularly noticeable when considering the history of Earth sciences. While geologists used certain commonly known tools and instruments during their travels and fieldwork, at the turn of the nineteenth century other instruments began to appear which were designed and made for specific purposes. Some of them were successfully tested and later adopted in the field, while others remained projects or their use proved to be awkward, especially in mountainous areas. The records of these attempts may be found in unpublished primary sources or in technical papers related to geological surveying and mapping. However, the references to the instruments used in the field (and sometimes later in the laboratory on the collected specimens) are also frequently found in major printed works on scientific travels. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview and discussion of the role of instruments in some significant cases related to geological travels undertaken by Italian scientists during the second half of the eighteenth century and the early decades of the nineteenth century.