Founder of a family of naturalists, obtained a degree in medicine in 1734. A student of Antonio Micheli (1679-1737), succeeded him as keeper of the Botanical Garden and professor of botany at the Studio Fiorentino. In 1739, appointed head of the Magliabechiana Library in Florence, whose vast holdings were reorganized under his supervision. His Relazioni d'alcuni viaggi fatti in diverse parti della Toscana, per osservare le produzioni naturali and gli antichi monumenti di essa (Florence, 1751-1754) is an essential description of Tuscany's historical and scientific heritage. His Notizie degli aggrandimenti delle scienze fisiche accaduti in Toscana nel corso di anni LX del secolo XVII (Florence, 1780) is the first documented history of science in Tuscany under the Medici, with emphasis on the age of Galileo, his disciples, and the Accademia del Cimento. A keen promoter of the region's economic and scientific interests. Member of the Accademia dei Georgofili and Accademia della Colombaria, both in Florence.