The Reception of Maxwell's Dynamical Theory in Italy Through the Pages of Il Nuovo Cimento

Papers dealing with electrodynamics in the years 1858–1895 published on Il Nuovo Cimento, one of the leading Italian scientific Journals, edited in Pisa, are analyzed. As a general rule there is a superior interest in experimental and practical results with respect to theory, with few notable exceptions. The survey, which of course does not encompass all publications edited in Italy, which was divided into several independent States at the time, each with its own Academy of Sciences and Journals, shows anyway an example on how scientific ideas circulated throughout Europe in XIX century.