On December 4, 1798, Luigi Galvani died in Bologna. A doctor, professor of anatomy and later of obstetrics, he soon distinguished himself for his theories related to animal electricity, namely the possibility that electricity applied to a muscle, in his case a frog’s, can produce contractions. His work had wide resonance (it was also the basis of the work of Alessandro Volta that would lead to the creation of his battery) but when the French army entered Bologna in 1796 his political and religious positions led him to step aside.
The baton of his experiments passed to his nephew, Giovanni Aldini, who extended the potential of the vivifying force of electricity to human bodies with demonstrations throughout Europe. In London, one of his performances created a huge uproar that was destined to influence the young Mary Shelley who shortly thereafter, in 1818, published her first literary work, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, evidently inspired by Galvani’s experiments.
Piazza Galvani and the Porticoes of Bologna World Heritage Site
In 1871 in Bologna it was decided to name a public space after the scientist Luigi Galvani. The choice fell on the large clearing in front of the portico of the Archiginnasio and the apse of San Petronio. Formerly that portion of the city had been called in many different ways: Piazza dell'Accademia, dell'Archiginnasio, delle Scuole or del Pavaglione and finally, from 1801, Piazza della Pace (celebrating the Peace Treaty of of Luneville between Napoleon and Austria). This toponym was used until 1871, when, in fact, it was decided to dedicate the square to Galvani who was portrayed in a sculpture by Adalberto Cencetti in 1879.
Sources
https://www.bibliotecasalaborsa.it/bolognaonline/events/muore_luigi_galvani
https://www.unibo.it/it/ateneo/chi-siamo/la-nostra-storia/alumni-e-personaggi-celebri/luigi-galvani