Brandt 1873 described several species of Cetotherium from the Pliocene of northern Italy, including C. cortesi based on a specimen (MSRN 13802) found by Italian geologist Giuseppe Cortesi in 1816 near the town Cortandone (45.0*N 8.1*E: paleocoordinates 44.9*N 8.0*E) Cortesi 1819 described how he, after a day of searching for fossils, found what he first thought was a small piece of wood in a small river.
Brandt 1873
Giuseppe Cortesi