Fondo Telesforo Bonadonna e zootecnia agraria di Milano

Biography of Telesforo Bonadonna

Telesforo Bonadonna (Novara, 30 August 1901 – Milan, 8 March 1987) was an internationally renowned scientist who worked for more than fifty years in many areas of animal science, specialising in the field of artificial insemination in domestic animals. He graduated in Agricultural Sciences from the University of Milan in 1924 and, two years later, in Veterinary Medicine. From 1928 to 1931 he served as Director of the Provincial Institute of Animal Husbandry in Pavia. A few years later, again in Pavia, he founded Italy’s first centre for artificial insemination in animals at Cascina Cravino, now part of the university campus. During these years Bonadonna developed a strong interest in study trips and scientific missions. Throughout his life he travelled widely in order to learn about the most innovative research methodologies applied to animal science and to exchange knowledge with the international scientific community.

In 1935 he obtained the qualification for university teaching (libera docenza) and was appointed assistant to the Chair of General Animal Science at the University of Milan, held by his mentor Antonio Pirocchi (successor to Professor Alessio Lemoigne and a pioneer of artificial insemination). Bonadonna held this position until 1955, when he was appointed Associate Professor of General Animal Science at the University of Camerino.

In 1937 he founded in Milan the Istituto Sperimentale Italiano Lazzaro Spallanzani for artificial insemination, becoming its Director. In 1958 he was appointed Full Professor of Special Animal Science at the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Milan. He later served as Director of the Institute of General Animal Science and Director of the Experimental Animal Science Station. In 1948, during the Milan Trade Fair, he organised the conference “Fisiopatologia della riproduzione animale e fecondazione artificiale” (Physiopathology of Animal Reproduction and Artificial Insemination), the first international event dedicated to this field. This initiative launched a series of conferences that continues to this day. The fifth edition, held in Trento in 1964, brought together more than 1,200 participants from across the world. Bonadonna was also the founder and first President of the Italian Society for the Progress of Animal Science (Società italiana per il Progresso della Zootecnia, 1947), as well as founder and Director of the journal Zootecnia e Veterinaria (1937).

During his long career he became honorary member and president of several scientific societies and institutions. He received numerous honours and awards from foreign governments, scientific organisations and academic institutions in Italy and abroad. He was awarded seven honorary degrees and, in Madrid, the title of Emeritus Professor. Over the course of his career he carried out scientific missions and study visits in almost every part of the world, sharing his expertise with the international scientific community and contributing to the development of new research methodologies in animal science. Author of thousands of publications—including scientific papers, monographs and popular articles—he died in Milan on 8 March 1987.

On 19 October 2001, a commemorative ceremony marking the centenary of the birth of Prof. Telesforo Bonadonna (1901–2001) was held in the Napoleonic Hall of Palazzo Greppi, Via Sant’Antonio 12, Milan. The event was organized by the Italian Experimental Institute “Lazzaro Spallanzani” in collaboration with the University of Milan.

History and extrinsic characteristics of the fund

The Fondo Bonadonna e zootecnia agraria di Milano includes monographic volumes originating from the personal library of Prof. Bonadonna (formerly housed partly within the Istituto di Zootecnia Generale of the University of Milan and partly at the Istituto Sperimentale italiano Lazzaro Spallanzani per la fecondazione artificiale) as well as texts that belonged both to his mentor and predecessor, Prof. Antonio Pirocchi, and to the well-known physiologist Filippo Usuelli (and to Prof. Claudia Nordio, a disciple of Usuelli). The fact that some of the volumes in the collection belonged to owners other than Bonadonna is demonstrated by the presence of personalized labels on the back cover and spine of the volumes, and ownership stamps placed on the covers (Usuelli Collection and Usuelli-Nordio Collection).

Within the oldest works in the collection (which covers a time span from the late nineteenth century to the 1970s), there are also volumes originating (according to the stamps and the presence of specific labels) from the Regia Scuola Superiore di Agricoltura di Milano (later the Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences of the University of Milan from 1935) and from the Stazione Sperimentale di Zootecnia. These are volumes on which Bonadonna and his contemporaries undoubtedly received their academic training.

Through the analysis of the ownership stamps present on the volumes of the Bonadonna collection, it has been possible to outline the relationships between the various institutions in which he worked and the connections he maintained with numerous colleagues and collaborators. The stamps indeed attest to an intense cultural exchange among the different actors within the field of animal science, in which Bonadonna undoubtedly played a central role.

A significant number of volumes has Bonadonna’s autograph signature, identified solely by his surname, as a mark of ownership. The collection also contains intact internal and external labels that testify to the provenance of the volumes from Bonadonna’s personal library, from the library of the Istituto di Zootecnia Generale, and from that of the Stazione Sperimentale di Zootecnia. No inserts or personalized ex libris, instead, are found inside the volumes. Of particular importance is the presence of handwritten dedications on the title pages, which constitute expressions of esteem from academics and scientists encountered during his numerous travels. These dedications also make it possible to reconstruct the owner’s friendships and the networks of cultural exchange he maintained.

The collection, registered with the Soprintendenza archivistica e bibliografica per la Lombardia, is curated by Roberta Moro – Library of Agricultural and Food Sciences, and Professor Ivan Toschi – Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. It is available for consultation only during the library’s opening hours.
For information, please contact:
roberta.moro@unimi.it and ivan.toschi@unimi.it
 

Publications about Telesforo Bonadonna

An initial reconstruction of Bonadonna’s biography was written by his devoted students and published in the proceedings of the 5th International Congress on Reproduction and Artificial Insemination in Domestic Animals (Trento, 6–13 September 1964).

Below is a selection of contributions published after his death:

• Bottesella C. (ed., with contributions by Nordio Baldissera C.), 1935–1994. Dall’idea alla rifondazione. 60 anni di vita scientifica dell’Istituto Sperimentale Italiano Lazzaro Spallanzani, 1995.
• Corrias A., “Commemorazione di Bonadonna Telesforo”, Annali dell’Accademia di Agricoltura di Torino, 129, pp. 229–237, 1987.
• Enne G., “Telesforo Bonadonna”, Atti della Società Italiana di Scienze Veterinarie, XLI, pp. 21–23, 1987.
• Succi G., in Istituto Sperimentale Italiano Lazzaro Spallanzani. Albo d’Oro 2002.
• Società italiana per il progresso della zootecnica (ed.), Riproduzione animale e fecondazione artificiale: scritti in onore di Telesforo Bonadonna, 1972.
• Zoccarato I., “Bonadonna Telesforo.” Associazione Italiana di Storia della Medicina Veterinaria e della Mascalcia (A.I.S.Me.Ve.M), “Pioneer of Artificial Insemination in Italy and Worldwide” (in Italian), 2025.

Selected works by Telesforo Bonadonna

Telesforo Bonadonna authored thousands of publications, including scientific articles, monographs and popular essays. The following are among his most significant works:

• Telesforo Bonadonna, Un viaggio nell'U.R.S.S.: impressioni, il problema agricolo, il problema zootecnico. Brescia: Vannini, 1936.
• Telesforo Bonadonna, 14.000 chilometri attraverso gli Stati Uniti: impressioni, agricoltura, zootecnica, fecondazione artificiale. Milan: Cisalpino, 1948.
• Telesforo Bonadonna, Viaggio zootecnico intorno al mondo in Asia e nelle Americhe: osservazioni, impressioni, considerazioni. Milan: Edizioni Progresso Zootecnico, 1961.
• Telesforo Bonadonna, Zootecnia speciale; preface by Filippo Usuelli. Milan: Cisalpino, 1950.
   

Access to the collection

The book collection can be consulted by submitting a request to the staff of the Agricultural and Food Sciences Library at:  bib.agraria@unimi.it