Societas Herpetologica Italica: venti anni di attività

Societas Herpetologica Italica: twenty years of activities. The Societas Herpetologica Italica (S.H.I.) was founded 20 years ago in a period of renewed interest in herpetology and nature conservation. The need to create a new scientific partnership that could bring together the Italian herpetologists was discussed in various forms since 1991 but it was only on February 20th, 1993 in Massa Marittima (Grosseto), that it was finally decided to create a scientific society, draft the statute and elect a constituent board. The S.H.I. was then legally established in Avellino few months later. The society took its first steps under the presidency of Benedetto Lanza and the council elected on June 12th, 1993 in Florence. Since then the S.H.I. held numerous activities: organized general meetings every two years (Torino, Praia a Mare, Pavia, Ercolano, Calci, Roma, Oristano, Chieti, Bari), published the Atlas of Amphibians and Reptiles of Italy (2006), the newsletter Monitor, the journal Acta Herpetologica and patronized many publications and scientific initiatives. The company was organized in special committees (Conservation, Database, Atlas, Journal editing) and numerous regional sections. Among the most prestigious collaborations, there were those with the Ministry of Environment for the "Completion of naturalistic base knowledge" (2001) and the preparation of the "National Action Plan for the Conservation of Marine Turtles" (2009). Currently the society is engaged in several initiatives including HerpeThon 2013, a cultural marathon for the conservation of amphibians and reptiles. The future of the Societas Herpetologica Italica depends on us and will be an expression of members’ will to strengthen our cultural heritage and values that have guided us so far: faber est suæ quisque fortunae.