Placido Michele Aurifici, better known as Bernardino da Ucria (born Ucria

Ucria

Ucria is a comune in the Province of Messina in the Italian region Sicily, located about 130 km east of Palermo and about 60 km west of Messina.-External links:*...

, Sicily

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

, 9 April 1739, died Palermo

Palermo

Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...

, 29 January 1796) was a Sicilian

Sicilian

Sicily is an autonomous Italian island. The adjectival form Sicilian can also refer to:* Sicilian language* Sicilian Baroque, baroque architecture in 17th & 18th centuries on Sicily...

 friar

Friar

A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders.-Friars and monks:...

 and botanist.

Life

Aurifici was born on 9 April 1739 at Ucria. In 1766 he entered the Franciscan

Franciscan

Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....

 monastery of St Antony in Palermo, taking the name Bernardino, by which he is now known. He developed a keen interest in botany and in 1786 was appointed demonstrator in botany at the University of Palermo

University of Palermo

The University of Palermo is a university located in Palermo, Italy, and founded in 1806. It is organized in 12 Faculties.-History:The University of Palermo was officially founded in 1806, although its earliest roots date back to 1498 when medicine and law were taught there...

, in which capacity he was involved in the establishment of the new Palermo Botanical Garden

Orto botanico di Palermo

The Orto Botanico di Palermo is both a botanical garden and a research and educational institution forming part of, and managed by, the Department of Botany of the University of Palermo. The garden lies within the city of Palermo , at 10 metres above sea-level...

 on the site that it still occupies. A keen student of Carl Linnaeus, he was responsible for the layout of the original section of garden on the basis of the Linnean system of classification

Biological classification

Biological classification, or scientific classification in biology, is a method to group and categorize organisms by biological type, such as genus or species. Biological classification is part of scientific taxonomy....

. A sculpted bust of Bernardino by Mario Rutelli

Mario Rutelli

Mario Rutelli was an Italian sculptor. Studying at the Academy of Fine Arts of Palermo and then in Rome under Giulio Monteverde, his masterwork is the "fontana delle Naiadi" in piazza dell'Esedra in Rome, which Benito Mussolini called "exaltation of eternal youth, the capital's first salute to...

is situated in the garden.

In 1789, Bernardino published his major work, Hortius regius panormitanus, a catalogue of the plants in the Botanical Garden, with notes on their wild origins in Sicily and, where appropriate, their medicinal uses. Three years later he published Plantae ad Linnaeanum opus addendae, a short pamphlet in which he described 32 new species of plants.

Works

• Hortius regius panormitanus (Palermo 1789)
• Plantae ad Linnaeanum opus addendae, et secundum Linnaei sistema noviter descriptae (1792)