Tomb of Ottaviano Fabrizio Mossotti - Camposanto Monumentale, Pisa

This Neoclassical tomb monument, sculpted by the renowned Italian artist Giovanni Duprè (1817–1882) in 1867, honors Ottaviano Fabrizio Mossotti (1791–1863), a distinguished Tuscan physicist, mathematician, and astronomer who served as a professor at the University of Pisa. Mossotti, born in Volterra, contributed to optics, electromagnetism, and celestial mechanics, and endured political exile during the Risorgimento for his liberal views. The tomb is located in the portico of the Camposanto Monumentale (Monumental Cemetery), a Gothic cloister within Pisa's Piazza dei Miracoli UNESCO World Heritage site, adjacent to the Duomo and Baptistery. It exemplifies 19th-century Italian funerary art, blending classical idealism with Romantic sentimentality, and pays homage to Mossotti's scholarly legacy through an allegorical celebration of scientific knowledge.

Mossotti conducted pioneering experiments and theoretical analyses on the polarization of light, building on the work of Étienne-Louis Malus and Augustin-Jean Fresnel. He explored how light waves could be polarized by reflection and refraction, contributing to the understanding of light as a transverse wave. His studies helped refine the mathematical models describing the behavior of polarized light, particularly in crystalline materials.

Forced into exile in Switzerland and later Argentina (1823–1835) due to his liberal political activities during the Risorgimento, Mossotti continued his scientific pursuits. In Buenos Aires, he established an astronomical observatory, but his optical research gained prominence after returning to Italy in 1836 to teach at Pisa.

At the heart of the monument is Duprè's masterful marble allegory, a nude female form draped loosely in a thin, flowing veil that clings to her contours like a second skin—evoking vulnerability and ethereal grace. She reclines languidly on her left side atop the sarcophagus, propped on one elbow with her right arm bent, hand delicately supporting her chin in a gesture of profound contemplation. Her face is turned slightly downward, eyes half-closed in reverie, with soft, wavy hair cascading over her shoulders and a serene, almost melancholic expression that captures the introspective solitude of discovery.

In her left hand, she cradles an open book (representing knowledge and the written word of science), while the drapery cascades over her legs and hips, leaving her torso exposed to emphasize purity and universality. The figure's idealized anatomy—smooth, polished surfaces with subtle musculature and contrapposto twist—reflects Duprè's training under Lorenzo Bartolini and his admiration for Canova's neoclassicism, yet infuses a modern emotional depth. Subtle details, like the faint veins on her hand and the textured folds of fabric, showcase the sculptor's virtuosity in marble, achieved through painstaking non-finito techniques.

This allegory is not merely decorative; it personifies Mossotti's passion for astronomy, inviting viewers to ponder the cosmos alongside the deceased scholar. Duprè, known for emotive works like his Pietà in Lucca, here transforms grief into quiet exaltation, aligning with the Romantic era's veneration of science as a divine pursuit.