Autograph Letter

Autograph letter signed (‘Giuseppe Casella’), in Italian, three pages, folding marks, small stain on last page, 4to, Naples, 16 March 1789.

The letter, addressed to an unknown recipient, discusses the developments of Casella’s research. He discusses publishing the work he has already completed [translated into English] “Nonetheless… I will seek to publish immediately (as much as I will be able to and as soon as I will be allowed to) the rest [of the work] that regards the attempts at solving the equation of 5th and 6th degree – hopefully, with good results.”

Casella also gives information on his current research and the issues he is having.

“The instruments we have are, for the most part, for amateurs, they belong to few individuals and they present some differences here and there. On a public level, we only have a few [tools] and not in good condition. Therefore, the waiting time is so long, that nothing seems to happen. Anyway, last June I could observe a solar eclipse with a Herschel telescope, and I was able to observe Saturn’s satellites and some eclipse of those in Jupiter[‘s orbit]. I will publish [my observation] when the right time comes. Whatever happens, I hope to receive the protection that the Minister di Marina gives to this faculty. For now, my only and everyday job is observing and calculating the observations without the obligation of teaching, so that I share with no one my observations. This is everything that can be accounted as certain at the moment.”

Guiseppe Casella (1755-1808) was an important Astronomer and Mathematician from Naples. He studied maths and literature at the diocescan seminary of Carreto Sannita. After finishing with honors he moved to Naples, driven to broaden his scientific knowledge. Casella enrolled in Law to appease his parents but continued to study astronomy on the side, listening to lectures by the famous Felice Sabatelli. Eager to learn more, he set out for London, going via Venice and Padua. While in Padua he was offered Chair of Mathematics at Padua University and eventually accepted. After his success in Padua, the Government of Naples invited him to return. In 1786 Casella became the Chair of Astronomy in the Royal College of the Navy, Chair of Mechanics in the Royal College of Artillery and Public Professor of Astrology in the Royal University of Studies.

In 1791 Minister Acton invited Cassella to use a wing of the Royal Bourbon Library to set up an astronomical observatory. Here Casella designed the first public Neopolitan Observatory and built a sundial 27 meters long on the library floor. Now known as the Meridian Room. In 1797 he became a member of Turin Academy of Science. In 1807, Casella moved the observatory to the suppressed monastery of S. Gaudioso in Capanapoli. Along with lecturing in astronomy and nautical studies, Casella also authored several publications. The most well known is ‘Astronomical Ephemerides’, published annually from 1790-96.

Full transcription in Italian and English available on request.