Celso Pellizzari

Celso Pellizzari was born to a family of reputed physicians. He studied at Florence and obtained his doctorate at that university in 1876. He was educated in dermatology under Ferdinand Ritter von Hebra (1816-1880), Moriz Kaposi (1837-1902), Karl Ludwig Sigmund, Ritter von Ilanor (1810-1883) and Isidor Neumann, Edler von Heilwart (1832-1906). In 1883 he was appointed extraordinary professor of dermo-syphilography at Siena, and one year later came to Pisa. In 1892 he assumed the chair in Florence, where he died in 1925.

Pellizzari was an excellent teacher and skilled organizer, concerning himself with studies of syphilis (brain lues, syphilis of the placenta, serotherapy), rhinoscleroma, and lepra. Later he worked particularly on light- X-ray and radium therapy, and in 1905 established a for its time extraordinarily well equipped institute for radiation therapy. One of the main representatives of Italian dermatology, he built a school of high repute.