Giuseppe Acerbi
Illustration — Giuseppe Acerbi • Illustration — Castel Goffredo, Gonzaga-Acerbi Building Giuseppe Acerbi (3 May 1773 – 25 August 1846) was an Italian naturalist, explorer and composer.
Also recorded as Acerbi
Giuseppe Acerbi

Rijksmuseum · CC0
- Born
- Giuseppe Acerbi was born on 3 May 1773. · Castel Goffredo.
- Died
- Giuseppe Acerbi died on 25 August 1846. · Castel Goffredo.
- Nationality
- Austrian Empire
- Occupation
- entomologist · explorer · writer · archaeologist · ornithologist · composer · naturalist · diplomat
- Fields
- botany · archaeology · diplomacy · travel
- Education
- University of Padua · University of Pavia
- Teachers
- Saverio Bettinelli
- Honours
- Order of the Iron Crown (Kingdom of Italy)
- Languages
- Italian · English · French
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Illustration — Giuseppe Acerbi • Illustration — Castel Goffredo, Gonzaga-Acerbi Building Giuseppe Acerbi (3 May 1773 – 25 August 1846) was an Italian naturalist, explorer and composer.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
Giuseppe Acerbi (1773–1846) was an archaeologist, botanist and composer, among other activities, of Austrian nationality. The archaeologist was born in Codogno and died in Milan.
Giuseppe Acerbi was educated at University of Padua and University of Pavia. The archaeologist was a member of Royal Swedish Academy of Music and worked in Oulu. Activity centred on archaeology, botany and diplomacy.
Languages used include English, French and Italian. Honours include Order of the Iron Crown (Kingdom of Italy).
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 01 October 2026
VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Giuseppe Acerbi. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q55007624 · wikipedia · Giuseppe Acerbi
In this article
Biography
Biography
Giuseppe Acerbi studied at University of Padua and University of Pavia. Training under Saverio Bettinelli is recorded. The recorded working language is Italian, English and French. The field of work recorded is botany, archaeology and diplomacy. Places of work recorded in the authority are Oulu. Distinctions recorded are Order of the Iron Crown (Kingdom of Italy).
Giuseppe Acerbi was born on 3 May 1773, in Castel Goffredo, in Lombardy. In 1798, Acerbi traveled to Lapland, publishing his experiences in Travels through Sweden, Finland and Lapland to the North Cape in the years 1798 and 1799 (1802). Some of his works can be found in the New York Society Library in New York City. He also written other works along with compositions that became popular. During his travels, he collected some Finnish folk melodies and religious songs, one of which he used in a Clarinet Concerto. This was the first Finnish melody to be used in serious music. In 1836, Acerbi retired from his travels and career. He returned to his hometown Castel Goffredo. He began to organize and administer his notes and collections from his travels. He never completed the task; Giuseppe Acerbi died in his hometown of Castel Goffredo, Italy on 25 August 1846. He was seventy-three years old.
Education
Education
Giuseppe Acerbi was educated by both his parents at a young age. As he got older, he eventually was taught by a tutor that demanded Acerbi to learn Italian, French, German and English as an addition of knowing his native Lombard language. He also learned Latin to add to his list of languages. He was taught about classic music, art, and become heavily involved with the sciences. At the age of twenty one, he graduated and received a degree of law from University at Pavia.
Travels
Travels
Since the start of his travels, the Finnish coast was not what Acerbi expected. From the beginning, Acerbi hated it. He was shocked by the culture of the people and did not enjoy it. After fighting with other explorers that were part of his trip, Acerbi decided travel through Finnish Lapland by himself on his return of going home. On his way, he recorded hundreds of pages of observations on the Sami people. He wrote notes on the Sami music, language, clothing and the customs. Eventually, he would grow to appreciate the Sami people and culture. During his stay in Finland he picked up several books of poems, Jos mun tuttuni tulisi ("If you were my dear"), the lullaby Nuku, nuku nurmilintu ("Sleep, sleep little bird"), the poem of Antti Keksi about the flood of the Torne river in 1677, eventually becoming a religious song. He recorded the melody of the song "Do Not Be afraid of the People of Finland" and of Kalevala, the Finnish epic poem, composed of 50 songs, or runi, describing the execution of the poems, the local shaman singers, The figure of Acerbi is much more famous in Finland than in Italy: the Finnish radio station's title is derived from its melody. Acerbi returned to Italy for after the publication of his book. The Premio letterario Giuseppe Acerbi, an Italian literary award, is named for Acerbi.
Identity
Identity
Giuseppe Acerbi is recorded with the occupation ornithologist. Indexed under Historical Influence and Diplomacy, Historical and Environmental Studies, Botany, Ecology, and Taxonomy Studies, Historical and Archaeological Studies, Historical Legal Studies and Society. Recorded as entomologist, explorer, writer, archaeologist and ornithologist.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
Explore 1773–1846
The full dated record · 4 entries
1773
Giuseppe Acerbi was born on 1 January 1773.
1799
Viaggio al Capo Nord: fatto l'anno 1799 dal Sig. cavaliere Giuseppe Acerbi is digitised and catalogued by Project Gutenberg.
1804
Voyage au CapNord, par la Suede, la Finlande et la Laponie; par Joseph Acerbi. Traduction d'aprés l'original anglais,... par Joseph Lavallée. Tome premier troisiéme Collection de planches (1804) is digitised and catalogued by Internet Archive.
1846
Giuseppe Acerbi died at Castel Goffredo.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Giuseppe Acerbi was born at Castel Goffredo.
Birthplace
Giuseppe Acerbi died at Castel Goffredo.
Deathplace
Castel Goffredo.
Birth place
Giuseppe Acerbi was born at Codogno.
Birthplace
Giuseppe Acerbi died at Milan.
Deathplace
Primary material
Documents and archives
scholarly publication
Institutional database
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q55007624: Giuseppe Acerbi
Scholarly · Wikimedia Foundation
scholarly index
- OpenAlex author record A5045045053 for Giuseppe Acerbi.
General reference · OpenAlex
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Miscali, Monica. Discovering the North: Francesco Negri's and Giuseppe Acerbi's journeys to Norway in the 17 th and 18 th centuries. Scandinavian Journal of History. 2024. 0346-8755.
- 2.Giuseppe Acerbi Books. City Readers.
- 3.Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed., 1954, Eric Blom, ed.
- 4.Giuseppe Acerbi. 7 November 2012.
- 5.On the Road: with Giuseppe Acerbi. 7 November 2012.
- 6.:it:Giuseppe Acerbi
- 7.Premio Letterario Giuseppe Acerbi. premioacerbi.com.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
scholarly publication
Institutional witnessInstitutional database
Wikidata, structured authority record Q55007624: Giuseppe AcerbiWikimedia Foundation
Institutional witnessscholarly index
Secondary witnessauthority file
VIAF cluster 3145971337532330638 for Giuseppe Acerbi, aggregating national library name authorities.OCLC
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
The authorities additionally record the heading Acerbi. His recorded languages were Italian, English and French. He was the child of Giacomo Acerbi. Acerbi worked in botany, archaeology, diplomacy, travel and music. He belonged to Royal Swedish Academy of Music. He worked at Oulu.
Identity and origins
Career and activity
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Music memorabilia
42,307 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Giulio ConfalonieriPerson
- Giulio RegondiPerson
- Giullian Yao GioielloPerson
- Giuni RussoPerson
- Giuseppe AldrovandiniPerson
- Giuseppe AlleviPerson
- Giuseppe AnastasiPerson
- Giuseppe AneddaPerson
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Giuseppe Acerbi?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.