Giuseppe Cervetto (1807-1865). Dalla sua vita, un modello di ricostruzione biografica per una Storia della medicina iatro-filosofica

Giuseppe Cervetto (1807-1865) is a notable figure among the relatively few physicians in the 19th century who held professorships in the History of Medicine at Universities across the Italian peninsula. Having received his education at the University of Padua, he successfully combined extensive practicalclinical experience - which led him to assume prominent professional roles in his native city of Verona and in Brescia - with a profound and multifaceted interest in research in the field of medical historiography. He made numerous contributions to this field, some of which were published in multiple editions. In 1860, Cervetto was appointed to teach the History of Medical Sciences at the University of Bologna, a position he held for only one year before moving to the University of Messina. His health severely deteriorated, and he passed away in 1865 while returning to his hometown. An advocate of the biographicalbibliographic method in historiography, Cervetto’s teaching was characterized by a “historical philosophy” that emphasized the role of medicine in transforming various aspects of society.