Born on 7 August 1743 to Francesco and Caterina Dieni, Rocco Bova was endowed with a fertile intellect.
His outstanding intellectual gifts impressed his already renowned uncle Giuseppe, who directed him toward
studies in literature, mathematics, and medicine, admitting him to the respected school he conducted in Scilla.
At the age of seventeen, in order to continue his studies, he entered the Seminary of Reggio Calabria, where he
became a pupil of Morisani.
To further cultivate his inclination for the physical and mathematical sciences, he moved to the Convent of the
Minims of Saint Francis of Paola, where the corrector father, Fra Alessandro Ala, and Fra Domenico Caristina
were distinguished teachers of these disciplines.
After completing this course of study, his uncle Giuseppe decided to send him to Bologna to earn a doctorate
in medicine; this took place in May 1765.
Having enrolled at the university there, he devoted himself to the study of anatomy, medicine, physics, botany,
astronomy, and mathematics.
Within a short time he acquired such expertise that he designed four sundials for the four corners of the observatory.
Drawn by the fame of the electrical experiments being conducted in Florence by Abbot Fontana, he moved there.
In Florence he met Dr. Giovanni Lami, already a friend of his uncle Giuseppe, and, like the latter, published
several dissertations in the Novelle Letterarie. He became a member of the Florentine Academy, the Academy
of the Apatisti, and the Botanical Academy.
He wrote an astronomical memoir which he sent to the Elector Palatine, Charles Theodore of Mannheim, from
whom he received a gold medal as a mark of appreciation and a letter stating that the Elector had submitted
the memoir to his astronomer, the Jesuit Father Mayer, who had judged it highly original because it dealt with
subjects never before addressed by other scholars.
When the French Academy asked Abbot Fontana to recommend an Italian astronomer willing to travel to Japan
to observe the transit of Venus across the solar disk, the abbot, aware of Bova’s abilities, proposed him for
the task.
Bova declined, however, because he had been summoned to Naples by the Marquis Vargas Macciucca, who offered
him a position as professor of experimental physics at the Royal College of the Salvatore. Arriving too late in
Naples, he found the chair already occupied by another professor and had to settle for teaching mathematics
at the college in Salerno.
Meanwhile, he decided to earn degrees in philosophy and medicine, both to fulfill the wishes of his celebrated
uncle, a physician, and to enable himself to practice the profession.
During these years, at the request of the prior of the Charterhouse of San Martino, Abbot Alessio Pansa, he
completed his greatest masterpiece: a perfectly executed meridian line.
At the Charterhouse of San Martino in Naples it is still possible to admire three remarkable sundials; the first,
and the most beautiful and famous, is the meridian line located in the Prior’s Quarters, created by Bova in 1771.
The Prior’s Quarters formed the residence of the spiritual guide of the Carthusian community and included the
prior’s rooms and a library.
The meridian line is located in Room 33 of the former library and is set into a floor of glazed terracotta tiles
created by the Neapolitan artist Leonardo Chiaiese.
The meridian line is considered one of the most singular and complex examples of its kind, both for the artistic
design of its bronze bands and for the quantity of astronomical, geometrical, and geographical information
it provides through an intricate network of readable data, as well as for its prestigious placement within an
architectural setting of exceptional value that actively interacts with it. It is, in fact, regarded as “one of the
highest expressions of eighteenth-century Neapolitan culture.”
Beyond its beauty, it is striking for its scientific precision and completeness.
Bronze strips arranged in the form of columns are engraved with the gradations of daylight, making it possible
to determine, for every day of the year, the times of sunrise and sunset, as well as the altitude and declination
of the Sun. It also indicates on which days the Sundays of the year fall according to a perpetual calendar.
Particularly admirable are the two compass roses in gray marble and the constellation map, whose stars are
positioned along the meridian line according to the period of the year in which they cross the local meridian at
midnight.
Finally, symbols and images—including a human face, perhaps a self-portrait of Bova himself—represent the
zodiac signs, the Sun, a gulf (probably Naples), a mountainous landscape, and small harbors.
Rocco Bova was also the creator of another meridian line, now lost together with the building that housed it,
namely the Palazzo dell’Orsolone at Camaldoli, also in Naples.
The following year, in 1773, he was appointed by the Court as professor of trigonometry at the Royal College of
the Salvatore in Naples, where he taught until the institution was closed in 1779.
During that period, under the initiative of Monsignor Galliani, its general director, work was underway on the
great geographical map of the Kingdom. Aware of Bova’s abilities, Galliani entrusted him with collaborating on
the project alongside the geographer Giovanni Antonio Rizzi Zannoni. Bova accepted and thus had the opportunity
to become acquainted with many provinces, an experience that proved valuable in preparing the map.
In 1782 he created another meridian line at the Monastery of the Trinity of Cava, at the invitation of Abbot
Pasqua.
Following the death of his uncle Giuseppe, who perished in the earthquake of 1783, Rocco was compelled to
return to Scilla in order to protect the interests of his family, which had lost such an important support.
There he met his learned cousin Antonio Minasi, who had been sent by the Royal Academy, together with other
scientists, to study the phenomena caused by the devastating earthquake that had struck Calabria; together
they devoted their scientific expertise to the task and produced insightful observations.
This later enabled Bova, while staying in London with his brother Mariano, to point out errors made by Sir William
Hamilton in his report on the Calabrian disaster of 1783, which had been submitted to the Royal Society.
Bova then had the opportunity to write his own scholarly memoir on the subject and present it to the same
Royal Society, which praised his work.
During his stay in London he was offered the chair of humanities at the University of Cambridge, a position he
declined because it required six years of residence.
There he became acquainted with distinguished literary and scientific figures, such as the celebrated astronomer
Lalande, as well as prominent political personalities, including the Corsican Pasquale Paoli, who became a
generous friend.
After the disaster of 1783 he settled permanently in Scilla, where he started a family by marrying Maria Angela
Minasi. He devoted the remainder of his life to his hometown and became its mayor in 1798.
In this role he first traveled to Palermo to petition the sovereign and then to Naples to appeal to the lieutenant
of the kingdom, Cardinal Fabrizio Ruffo, on behalf of his fellow citizens, who sought the restoration of the
privilege—originally granted by Emperor Charles V—allowing them to import specified quantities of grain and
legumes from Sicily exempt from royal duties.
The abolition of feudalism, which added new disputes to the longstanding conflicts between the Municipality
of Scilla and its feudal lord, found Rocco Bova once again defending his town, as he had already done in 1776
and 1778 before the Sacred Junta of Scilla and the Royal Council, together with the respected Father Antonio
Minasi.
When disputes arose concerning the Aspromonte forest, he traveled to Monteleone (today Vibo Valentia) to
meet the intendant, the historian Pietro Colletta.
Colletta entrusted him with the task of preparing a topographical map of the territory of Scilla, which he carried
out with great skill in order to resolve the dispute with the Ruffo family.
He was deeply attached to his famous cousin Antonio Minasi, whose study on the hermit crab he published, enriching
it with a lengthy introduction highlighting the achievements and works of the distinguished naturalist.
Rocco Bova died on 27 June 1831.
Giuseppe Ribuffo
