Entre voyage savant et campagne médicale: le séjour en Italie de La Condamine (1755-1756)

Abstract

On December 1754, the scientist La Condamine (1701-1774) left Paris to go to Italy. This trip was not motivated by a mission of the Académie des sciences, but for reasons of health. The purpose of this article is to show that, nevertheless, during this one and a half year stay in Italy, he has implemented an approach to intervention both in the development of knowledge and in the visibility of scientific knowledge. The first part concerns the astronomical observatories, considered here as places of production of knowledge. The second part is devoted to its actions in favor of the circulation of medical data about the inoculation for smallpox.