Education
Lessona studied medicine in Turin, afterwards relocating to Egypt, where he worked in a hospital outside of Cairo. From 1850 he studied natural sciences at Turin, and in the meantime found employment as a secondary school teacher.
Lessona studied medicine in Turin, afterwards relocating to Egypt, where he worked in a hospital outside of Cairo. From 1850 he studied natural sciences at Turin, and in the meantime found employment as a secondary school teacher.
Michele Lessona became a specialist in amphibians. In 1862, with Filippo de Filippi, he took part in a scientific and diplomatic mission to Persia, and after his return to Italy, he was named chair of zoology at the University of Bologna in 1863. In 1867 he became chair of zoology and comparative anatomy at the University of Turin.
Lessona has several herpetological species named after him, such as Pelophylax lessonae, Diploglossus lessonae, and Trapelus lessonae.