Introduction
The Natural History Museum of Venice has undertaken since long the digitization of its collections, including the “Lichenotheca Veneta” by Vittore Trevisan, a precious collection of dried lichens published in multiple copies in 1869. The publication, normally accessible for direct examination on request at the Museum, is now also freely available online in form of high resolution images.
The internship of Dr. Maria Zardini, performed in close collaboration with the Department of Life Sciences of the University of Trieste, offered the opportunity to make better known this important collection.
Like all exsiccata publications, that were quite common in the second half of the nineteenth century, the Lichenotheca Veneta was originally meant to serve as study tool for scholars, allowing to compare specimens and assess the validity of certain genera and species. Today, besides its considerable historical and cultural value, it also retains a scientific relevance, that stands in the taxonomic notes associated to some specimens, and in its link with the territory. Unfortunately, however, the collecting localities of samples are often given with little detail and, sometimes, are not supplied at all.