From England to Italy: the intriguing story of Poli's engine for the King of Naples

TL;DR

This paper uncovers a little-known episode of Poli's early steam engine in 18th-century Naples, revealing its significance in the history of Watt's engine and technological innovation in Italy.

Contribution

It presents new historical evidence that Poli's engine predates Italy's first steamship, challenging existing narratives about technological adoption in 18th-century Italy.

Findings

Poli's engine was an early example of steam technology in Italy.

The engine's story predates Italy's first Mediterranean steamship by 30 years.

Poli's work influenced Watt's engine development and its success.

Abstract

An interesting, yet unknown, episode concerning the effective permeation of the scientific revolution in the XVIII century Kingdom of Naples (and, more generally, Italy) is recounted. The quite intriguing story of Watt's steam engine prepared for serving a Royal Estate of the King of Naples in Carditello reveals a fascinating piece of the history of that Kingdom, as well as an unknown step in the history of Watt's steam engine, whose final entrepreneurial success for the celebrated Boulton & Watt company was a direct consequence. That story unveils that, contrary to what claimed in the literature, the first introduction in Italy of the most important technological innovation of the XVIII century did not take place with the construction of the first steamship of the Mediterranean Sea, but rather 30 years before that, thanks to the incomparable work of Giuseppe Saverio Poli, a leading scholar and a very influential figure in the Kingdom of Naples. The tragic epilogue of Poli's engine testifies for its vanishing in the historical memory.