Giovanni Rajberti (1805–1861): An uncompromising physician and poet

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to describe the figure of the Italian uncompromising physician and poet Giovanni Rajberti (1805-1861), who was a strenuous opponent of non-scientific medical practices in Italy, including Animal Magnetism, Homeopathy and Hydropathy. In particular, he demonstrated the inconsistency of mesmerist practices in an exemplary yet less-known episode that involved the famous French writer Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850). Although his ideas hindered his career, Rajberti continued to criticize alternative practices, sustaining the value of true medicine and science against charlatans.

Animal magnetism in Italy during the nineteenth century: the conflicting relationship with the Catholic Church

“…Only a small part of the medical profession devoted itself to experimenting with it, while most physicians openly opposed it. The writings against mesmerism by the Milanese doctor Giovanni Rajberti (1805-61) are typical (Petria, Cesana and Riva, 2021). Despite this, mesmerism in its sleepwalking version managed to take root firmly in central areas where the proletarian masses lived.…”