.jpg?idPhoto=10415&idFormat=160000063&idInstance=158 "Fig. 14 - Utensili agricoli (Ankober, Shewa, Etiopia). Disegni originali di O. Antinori (1879). Biblioteca Societą Geografica Italiana")
Orazio Antinori was one of the first Europeans and the first-ever Italian to explore the inner regions of Ethiopia for primarily naturalistic purposes. He observed everything carefully and then made notes and sketches in his notebooks, now conserved in the Italian Geographic Society ‘s library and historical archives at Villa Celimontana in Rome, recording every aspect of the landscapes, geological formations, environments, flora and fauna of the areas he visited. His accurate ethnographic descriptions of customs, traditional houses and everyday objects of the people with whom he came into contact in the course of his travels are also truly remarkable (Fig. 14). While traveling in Egypt (1859 and 1869) and Tunisia (1866 and 1875), Antinori visited various archaeological sites, at the time relatively unknown by European scholars, describing their characteristics and drawing schematic plans and the most important monuments, complete with their architectural and decorative characteristics.
.jpg?idPhoto=10416&idFormat=160000063&idInstance=158 "Fig. 15 - Catalogo della Collezione Ornitologica del Museo Zoologico della Libera Universitą di Perugia")
During his expeditions in various regions of the Near and Middle East and Central and North-East Africa, Antinori mainly carried out ornithological research on local birds and collected numerous specimens, today part of important collections housed in various Italian natural history museums, including the Natural History Gallery at the University of Perugia’s University Centre for Scientific Museums (CAMS) (Figs. 15, 16).
.jpg?idPhoto=10417&idFormat=160000063&idInstance=158 "Fig. 16 - Voce di Catalogo della Collezione Ornitologica del Museo Zoologico della Libera Universitą di Perugia")
During his studies, between 1855 and 1864, he discovered new species and subspecies of birds. These include:
Apus affinis galile jensis (Antinori, 1855); Lagonosticta rara (Antinori, 1864); Eremomela canescens Antinori, 1864; Cisticola troglodytes (Antinori, 1864).
During the many years he spent exploring remote regions, Orazio Antinori also collected numerous specimens of birds and he sent the remains, both skin and taxidermic examples, to various Italian and European natural history museums. The study of these specimens by famous ornithologists of the time, such as Carlo Luciano Bonaparte (Paris 1803 - Paris 1857) and Tommaso Salvadori (Porto San Giorgio 1835 - Turin 1923), helped them to detect, define and establish new species previously unknown to science. These include: Gyps africanus Salvadori, 1865; Buteo auguralis Salvadori, 1865; Podiceps cristatus infuscatus Salvadori, 1884; Caprimulgus fraenatus Salvadori, 1884.
His valuable contribution as a "pioneer" of botanical and zoological studies in the inner regions of the North-east was honoured by eminent scholars, both Italian and of other European nationalities, who wanted to assign specific or subspecific epithets to various plant and animal species, in particular of Afrotropical origin but not limited to, in memory of the great Umbrian naturalist. Therefore, about 20 plant and animal taxons, including species and subspecies, are dedicated to Antinori (Figs. 17-19).
.jpg?idPhoto=10418&idFormat=160000063&idInstance=158 "Fig. 17 - Vernonia antinoriana Avetta. Campione raccolto da O. Antinori nello Shewa (Etiopia). Erbario Tropicale di Firenze")
.jpg?idPhoto=10419&idFormat=160000063&idInstance=158 "Fig. 18 - Epiphora antinorii (Oberthür, 1880). Asmara (Eritrea), 1968, leg. L. Barbera. MSN di Genova")
.jpg?idPhoto=10420&idFormat=160000063&idInstance=158 "Fig. 19 - Sintypi di Barbus antinorii Boulenger, 1911 [oggi sinonimo di Barbus callensis Valenc.] - Tunisia, 1875. MSN di Genova")
These include a European mammal, the Antinori shrew or Vallese Sorex antinorii Bonaparte shrew, 1840; Two Birds, Psalidoprocne pristoptera antinorii Salvadori, 1884, and Cisticola lateralis antinorii (Heuglin, 1867); A Reptile, Dendroaspis polylepis antinorii (Peters, 1873); Two Fish, Barbus antinorii Boulenger 1911 and Aplocheilichthys antinorii (Vinciguerra, 1883); Nine Insects, Pycna antinorii (Lethierry, 1881), Locris antinorii Distant, 1908; Peropyrrhicia antinorii (Bormans, 1881); Paussus antinorii Gestro, 1881; Calosoma antinorii Gestro, 1878; Dorylus (Alaopone) antinorii Emery, 1881; Xanthophenax antinorii Gribodo, 1879; Uranothauma antinorii (Oberthur, 1883); Papilio dardanus antinorii Oberthur, 1883; Epiphora antinorii (Oberthur, 1880); An Arachnid, Castianeira antinorii (Pavesi, 1880); Three Clams, including two living and a fossil species, Homorus antinorii (Morelet, 1872); Cerastus antinorii Vaught, 1989; Streblopteria antinorii Gemmellaro, 1896; A Plant, Euryops antinorii (Avetta) S. Moore. As for the insects, many "types" are kept in the Giacomo Doria Natural History Museum in Genoa.
