Agostino Gallo (14 May 1499 – 6 September 1570) was an Italian

agronomist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.), is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the ...

. Although not a man of letters, Agostino Gallo contributed greatly to the store of written agricultural knowledge of his time. He improved methods of cultivating Italian land by studying classical and modern techniques, as well as introducing new crops, such as

Alfalfa Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as w ...

and

Rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

. For these reasons, he is considered the father or restorer of Italian

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

. His most famous work is ''Giornate Dell' Agricoltura Et De Piaceri Della Villa Etc'', which was published between 1550 and 1569 in several languages.

Bibliography

* Antonio Saltini, ''Storia delle scienze agrarie'', t.I, ''Dalle origini al Rinascimento'', Edagricole,

Bologne Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nati ...

, 1984, pp. 258–361 1499 births 1570 deaths 16th-century Italian scientists 16th-century Italian writers Italian agronomists Italian Renaissance people Pomologists {{Italy-scientist-stub