- Ignazio Cerio
Ignazio Cerio (1841-1921) was an influential but eccentric physician and amateur philosopher on the island of
Capri , inItaly . His father, imprisoned for his liberal beliefs, had spent his time in jail devising chemical concoctions and mechanical constructions that would never be made; Ignazio continued the family traditions of both liberalism and idiosyncratic inventiveness. Ignazio even coined the word "disutilità" to refer to a human life lacking a sense of purpose but full of tension and reflection, mixing passionate pursuit of ideas with periods of lovesickness andennui .He worked for fifty years as a medical doctor on Capri, a profession he followed with his characteristically unconventional flair. One one occasion, for example, he established a sanitorium at
Pozzuoli , claiming that the sulphurous gases would cure tuberculosis. The only patient to arrive at the sanitorium rejected the doctor's contention that bothsulphur andarsenic would be good for the health.Nevertheless, he remains a well-remembered and much-loved figure on the island of Capri, his memory immortalised both in the writings of his son,
Edwin Cerio (particularly in "La vita a la figura de un uomo" (1921)) and in the cultural Centro Caprense Ignazio Cerio, established in his name to organise conferences and meetings onmedicine , Italian and foreignliterature ,archaeology ,palaeontology , and international and localhistory .References
* [http://www.capri.net/caprireview/article.php?cod=72&lang=en&tr=1 Article on Cerio family in Capri Review Magazine]
External links
* [http://www.culturacampania.rai.it/site/en-GB/Cultural_Heritage/Museums/Card/Main_Works/capri_museo_e_biblioteca_del_centro_caprense_ignazio_cerio.html?link=opere&UrlScheda=capri_museo_e_biblioteca_del_centro_caprense_ignazio_cerio Centro Caprense Ignazio Cerio]
* [http://www.comune.giulianova.te.it Giulianova (TE) - Città natale di Ignazio Cerio]
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