Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory. A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints.
Today’s guestbook entry is from August 21, 1913, when Giovanni Zappa made a visit.
Next to his name, Giovanni Zappa (1884-1923) wrote, “Capodimonte, Napoli” (“Capodimonte, Naples”)
He worked at several different observatories, including those of the Roman College, of Catania, of Capodimonte, and Collurania. His research was primarily involved with calculating orbits of asteroids and comets.
In 1919 he would become director of the observatory at Collurania, and in 1922 the director of the observatory at the Collegio Romano.
The asteroid 16745 Zappa is named for him.
