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 March 14, 1913, when Francesco Porro made a visit.
Francesco Porro de’ Somenzi (1861-1937)Next to his name, Francesco Porro de’ Somenzi (1861-1937) wrote, “Professore di Astronomia nella R. Università di Genova” (“Professor of astronomy at the Royal University of Genoa”)
From 1886 until 1902, he was director of the observatory in Turin, Italy, and oversaw its relocation as the Pino Torinese observatory. He moved to Genoa from 1902-1905. From 1905-1910 he was director of the National Observatory of La Plata, Argentina, after which he returned to the University of Genoa as professor of astronomy, geography, theoretical geodesy, and meteorology.
He is most known for having done the data reductions of stellar field observations made by Giuseppe Piazzi (discoverer of Ceres) at the Palermo observatory.
