About the middle of the 16th century, an academy was instituted at Umidi in Florence, in honour of the grand duke Cosmo I. who, in 1549, declared himself its protector. It was afterwards called Academia la Flo rentina, and goes under the name of the. Florentine Aca demy. Its chief attention was directed to the Italian poetry. It has produced many excellent works, and for these two last centuries has included most of the eminent characters in Italy.
The Academia della Crusca, or Academia Finfurato rum, the Bran Academy, was so named probably from the nature of its institution, the design of which was to polish and improve the Italian language, to sift the words, as it were, and reject all such as were barbarous, or of doubtful authority. It was formed in 1582, but was lit tle known till two years after, when it attracted notice on account of a dispute between Tasso and some of its members. The chief work which it has produced, is an Italian Dictionary, a well known work of great merit. In this academy, To•ieelii, the disciple of Galileo, de livered many of his philosophical discourses. It is now united with two others, viz. the Fiorentina and Aflatista, under the name of the Reali.deademia Fiorentina.
The Academia della Crusca was followed by another academy at Florence, under the name of Del Cimento. It arose towards the beginning of the 17th century, un der the protection of prince Leopold, afterwards Cardi nal de Mcdicis; and numbered among its members Paul del Buono, who, in 1657, invented an instrument to prove the incompressibility of water ; Alphonso Bo relh, celebrated for his book de Motu Animalium ; count Lawrence Magalotti, who, in 1677, published a book of curious experiments, under the title of Saggi di Natu ral/ Asperienze, a copy of which being presented to the Royal Society of London, was translated into English by Air Waller, and published in 4to, in 1684;—together with other philosophers of equal reputation.
4cademut Bononiensis, was fi,undt. d at Bologna, by Eustachio Manfredi, in 1690. At the early age of six teen, this young man associated to himself some ut his companions, with the view of discussing those subjects, to which, in the course of their studies, their attention was directed. They held stated meetings in the apart ment of Manfredi, and appointed beforehand the sub jects that were to be discussed. Their armorial badge was the planetary system, surrounded by a serpent hold ing its tail in its mouth; and their motto, Alens Agitat ; from which they assumed the name of inyaieti. The
members of this academy gradually increased, and many of them attained the highest literary and scientific ho nours. In 1704, J. B. Morgagni being made director, new-modelled the academy, with the assistance of E. Manfredi and Stancarius; banished, in a great measure, the useless speculations of the schoolmen; and introdu ced the mode of philosophizing, which has been since followed with so much success. In 1714, this academy was united with the Bononian Institute, which was a kind of college under the protection of the senate, and richly endowed by Clement XI. and Benedict XIV. as well as by the liberality of private individuals. Hence it obtain ed the name of the deaden:// of the Institute, and the di rector was named president. Not only were persons of both sexes admitted members of this academy, but seve ral ladies were raised to professorships. Of these, Anna Alanzolini was professor of anatomy ; and Laura Bassi, who died in 1778, was renowned for her knowledge of the abstruse sciences. "The place in which the acade my met," says count Stolberg, " is an enormous build ing, which contains above forty apartments, with many halls under them. The learned have assured me, that the cabinet of natural history is not only amply provided with the wealth of nature, in every division of her three kingdoms, but the specimens, especially the fossils, are peculiarly fine. The library is said to contain above 120,000 volumes, not including the numerous and valua ble manuscripts which fill a whole apartment ; and the separate apartments that are allotted for study, are fur nished with an individual library for each science. The celebrated hall of anatomy is large, and well supplied with waxen models of all the parts of the human body. The large and valuable collection of philosophical instru ments, which belonged to the late lord Cowper, was purchased by some private citizens of Bologna, and pre sented to the institution." See Stolberg's Travels, vol. i. p. 265, 4to. The Commentarii Bononienses were se lected from the early productions of the institution; and the first volume appeared at Bologna in the year 1748, to which is prefixed an account of the nature and early history of the academy. Since that time, a considera ble number of volumes have been published.