596 Dr. Walter Flight — History of Meteorites. 



form olivine, in the insoluble part of that required to form bronzite; 

 in the latter case a portion of the acid is probably present as a con- 

 stituent of a felspar. 



1868, February 29th. — Villanova di Casale Monferrato, Province 

 of Alessandria, and Motta dei Conti, Province of No vara, Italy. 1 



The village of Villanova lies on the left bank of the Po, 5 kilo- 

 metres N.E. of Casale Monferrato and 2 kilometres from the village 

 Motta dei Conti. Between 10-30 and 10-45 a.m. (local mean time) 

 on the 29th February, the sky being calm but cloudy with cirri, 

 cirro-cumuli and cumuli, a loud detonation was heard which was 

 noticed in many villages and towns of this part of Piedmont. In 

 Casale the noise resembled the discharge of artillery or the explosion 

 of a mine ; while an observer stationed near the confluence of the 

 Sesia and the Po states that he heard a crackling noise like the dis- 

 charge of musketry afar off. Near Casteggio, in the district of 

 Yoghera, Alessandria, a mass was observed to traverse the heavens 

 with great rapidity, leaving a black track resembling smoke ; and 

 two explosions were heard followed by a prolonged noise. A medical 

 man who was near Santo Stefano d'Aveto, in the district of Chiavari, 

 Genoa, saw a globe of fire of considerable size cross the sky from 

 N.W. to S.E. at the same time. 



One meteorite fell about 600 metres S.E. of Villanova; it crashed 

 through the branches of a tree and entered the ground a few paces 

 distant from a terrified peasant, who, believing it to be a bomb, fell 

 on his face. The villagers were filled with alarm at the occurrence, 

 and some oxen yoked to a plough near Koggia Marcora stood still 

 with fear. The stone penetrated the clayey soil to a depth of 0*4 

 metre, and on the following day was exhumed by a boy, while the 

 courageous owner of the field sheltered himself securely hard by and 

 watched the operation. 3 



The Villanova meteorite has somewhat the form of a cube and 

 measures 0-08 metre along the side ; it weighs l - 92 kilog. and has a 

 specific gravity = 3-29. It is covered with a thin hard brown crust ; 

 the interior has a mottled grey colour and a fractured appearance, 

 and is very friable. The matrix is stated to enclose grains of an 

 ochrey-yellow hue, others much larger and of a brown colour 

 (chromite), as well as lustrous metallic particles, the remainder- con- 

 sisting of various stony ingredients, some consisting of microscopic 

 crystals. 



1 A. Goiran, A Bertolio, A. Zannetti, and L. Musso. Sopra gli Aeroliti caduti 

 il giorno 29 febbraio 1868 nel territorio di Villanova e Motta dei Conti, Piemonte, 

 circondario di Casale. Con Introduzione del padre Denza. 1868, Torino. See 

 also Bull, meteor, dell' Osserv. del M. Coll. Carlo Alberti in Montcalieri, March to 

 June, 1868. -F. Denza. Compt. rend., 1868, lxvii. 322.— G. Jervis. I Tesori 

 Sotterranei dell' Italia. Parte Prima. 1873, Torino: Loescher. Page 153. 



2 The trajectory of this stone could be approximately determined since three points 

 in a vertical plane were determined : 1) the point where it grazed the top of a tree, 

 2) the broken end of the bough of a walnut tree severed by the meteorite, and 3) 

 the point where it entered the ground. Other peasants, who were employed lopping 

 trees near the high road which leads from Casale to Vercelli, at a point about 1200 

 metres from Villanova, observed a rain of black grains ; one man was struck on the 

 hat with a piece of considerable size. 



