Conservation and Diffusion of Species Diversity in Northern Italy: Peasant Gardeners in the Renaissance and after,

The Mediterrenean garden made an important contribution to the Italian agricultural landscape (Sereni, 1961). This paper aims to bring together some comparable archivial documentation from various areas in Northern Italy to provide evidence for the role of peasant farmers in the diffusion of new horticultural varieties. Gardens in and around Verona in late medieval centuries, market garden growers in the Venetian islands of the 17th century, peasant and market gardeners in and around Turin in the 17th and 18th centuries provide the right information about conservation and diffusion of plants. In late medieval times new plants from Northern Africa and Middles East such as mulberry, almond, eggplant, spinach, artichoke were grown in the gardens of the merchant elite. Later valuable trees such as the citrus, apricot and varieties of fruit trees were grown to embellish Renaissance gardens and finally American new plants, maize, potato, tomato etc. were grown at first among botanical collections before finding their way in the market gardens and the fields. Given the class division of Italian society peasant growers made available to future generation the botanical patrimony they had inherited along with new plants grown for pleasure and profit.