| Summary: | To the modern eye, Ulisse Aldrovandi’s work
presents an evident discrepancy: it offers elements
which have been interpreted as first steps in modern
biology. Among them, the illustrations immediately draw
attention, as they prove a new way of observing and
describing nature, contrasting with
the medieval symbolic approach of plants and animals.
But some of the illustrations are obviously wrong,
imaginary, or clumsy. Generally, modern history of
sciences has rejected these as errors, arguing that
their presence was due to the immaturity of a boring
new science. This paper aims to present another way of
considering the coexistence of contradictory elements
in Aldrovandi’s scientific discourse: these elements
must not be judged and classified from our modern point
of view. They testify to the existence of a mainly
different and polymorphic, but coherent representation
of nature.
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