 Through these translations, Canestrini was a principal factor concerning the popularity of Darwinism in 19th century Italy.He wrote "Origine dell’uomo" ("The Origin of Man", 1866) which advocated common ancestry and defended Darwin from criticisms of Giovanni Giuseppe Bianconi and others, this work was published five years before Darwin's "The Descent of Man".However, although Canestrini was a supporter of many of Darwin's ideas, he rejected his theories of pangenesis and sexual selection.