[M. Bergonzoni's unknown Italian period and notable though forgotten work in Poland]

On the basis of Italian sources the author presents circumstances of Bergonzoni's arrival in Poland following a series of futile attempts to lecture at medical faculty in Bologna. With the aid of Cardinal Garatti he came to Poland. During his stay in Lublin he was involved in improvement of the city's sanitation. He continued this work in Warsaw becoming an initiator of social medicine in Poland. He also lectured at the Warsaw school of surgeons. His work as a protomedic in the Polish Army is already familiar. The author notes that Bergonzoni was recognized by Italian historians of medicine only at the time of the international congress of history of medicine in Poland in 1962.