The representation of geological catastrophic phenomena in the Italian journals between 18th and 19th centuries: description, interpretation and possible risk communication

The aim of this paper is to present and analyze the ways of perception, description, representation, interpretation and communication of natural phenomena in the field of Earth sciences (mainly volcanic eruptions and earthquakes), whose effects and environmental impacts have been regarded as catastrophic in the Italian scientific periodicals during the second half of the 18th century, up to the middle of the 19th century. These historical sources include scholarly and popular journals as well as proceedings of academies and scientific societies. The selection of periodicals was primarily headed by their relevance for the history of science communication in Italy, their wide circulation, the journalistic slant and the relevance in terms of "topic coverage", as well as editorial longevity. The goal is to define how the geological catastrophic phenomena were described in these printed sources, possibly through the use of a specific written and sometime visual language. Particular attention will be given to the study of the different ways of communicating volcanic and seismical phenomena to different kind of readers, taking into account the evolution of volcanological and seismological theories during the same time span. Moreover, possible traces of early forms of risk communication on natural hazards and geological phenomena, will be considered and analyzed.  This paper contains some results of the work undertaken by the research unit of the University of Insubria (Varese, Italy), within the Italian national research project PRIN 2022 - "Communicating and Representing the Earth: Structures and Phenomena in the Italian Context (17th - 19th century)".