Luigi Guerri

Luigi Guerri was bom in Florence on 21 June 1823 when the House of Lorraine reigned, by the grace of God and the will of the nation. The boundaries of that world were the Apennine Mountains to the north and east, the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west, while southward, the unhealthy Maremma swamp barred the way to anyone who wanted to set foot in Sweet Tuscany. The academic world, however, was made up of a select few, and there was fierce competition for the few places that existed. 

In 1850, in order to fill the chair of pharmaceutical chemistry, firom which Gioacchino Taddei had been banned for his political leanings (for the first time ), public competition was held. The winner, Giovanni Campani (1820-1891), from Siena, invited the 27-year old Luigi Guerri to be his assistant. In this way, Guerri s academic career commenced, although his first publications dated back to 1846, while he was stiU a student [16]. 

Luigi Guerri, although also charged with the position of Superintendent of Pharmacies, was nevertheless able to produce a vast quantity of research which, for clarity, can be subdivided into three fields medicinal chemistry, general chemistry, and analytical chemistry. 

Luigi Guerri had a son, Stefano (1862-1920), who followed in his father s footsteps as a scientist even though he was fond of music and poetry. He completed his first degree in Chemistry at the University of Pisa and later obtained another degree in pharmacy. In 1890, he moved to Florence to work with Hugo Schiff (1834-1915) as a chemist. His rapid return to Florence can be attributed to his widowed father s poor health he had been struck by apoplexy and required considerable care. In the course of 1891, suddenly but perhaps inexplicably, Stefano Guerri decided to abandon the harsh side of university life and Schiff, passed the examination to work in the Office of Public Health in Florence, and remained there until his death. 

Guerri D, Pomini D, Vanni P (1997) Luigi Guerri, an ordinary pharmacist who became the first son of pharmaceutical chemistry. Boll Chim Farm 136(6) 516-526... 

---