Quintus Fulvius Lippinus, Fulvius Lippinus for short (aka Fulvius Hirpinius) was an enterprising Roman farmer from the first century BC. He lived in the Roman region of

Tarquinia Tarquinia (), formerly Corneto, is an old city in the province of Viterbo, Lazio, Central Italy, known chiefly for its ancient Etruscan tombs in the widespread necropoleis, or cemeteries, for which it was awarded UNESCO World Heritage status ...

, today's Italian

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

. His dealings are described in the ''Rerum rusticarum libri III'' by

Marcus Terentius Varro Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...

, and a century later in

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...

's ''

Naturalis Historia The ''Natural History'' ( la, Naturalis historia) is a work by Pliny the Elder. The largest single work to have survived from the Roman Empire to the modern day, the ''Natural History'' compiles information gleaned from other ancient authors. ...

''.

Wild animal husbandry

Fulvius Lippinus owned a domain of forty jugera in the vicinity of

, a large domain in Statona, and some domains elsewhere. In these areas he had farms where methods were developed for keeping game such as hares, deer, and wild sheep. Lippinus was the first Roman to create game parks for keeping wild boar and pig, among others

Snail breeding

However, Lippinus gained most fame by keeping and breeding snails. He built the first parks in Tarquinia, shortly before the civil war broke out between Pompey and Cæsar. With the construction and exploitation of these so-called ''cochlearia'', Fulvius Lippinus was the first (documented) snail farmer in history. The cochlearia were parks surrounded by a water channel, to prevent the escape of the snails parked in there. These parks were equipped with an irrigation system that was the predecessor of the current agricultural sprinkler system: water pipes with a rose-shaped head were placed against a surface in such fashion that the water burst into a fine mist and thus provided the snails with the necessary moisture. Lippinus had a separate park for each snail species, each of which was marketed for its specific qualities. For example, he had small white snails from nearby

Reate Rieti (; lat, Reate, Sabino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, with a population of 47,700. It is the administrative seat of the province of Rieti and see of the diocese of Rieti, as well as the modern capital of the Sabina re ...

, large snails from Illyricum, medium-sized snails from Africa, and particularly large snails, also from Africa, the so-called ''Solitannae'', which were very prolific.

Preparation of escargot

Lippinus fed the snails with its own developed formula based on boiled wine, flour, and herbs. The snails would thrive on this diet. Pliny the Elder claimed that some snails grew so large that their houses could contain up to 80 quadrants. With his innovative ideas for cooking snails, he also took Roman gastronomy to the next level: in preparation he would first lock the snails with milk, salt and bread in a jar with air holes for a few days, with the milk being changed daily and refreshed. As soon as the snails had swollen to the point of no longer being able to retreat to their homes, they were fried in oil or grilled on the fire and served with herbs and sauces.

Snail trade

Consuming escargot would initially only be popular among the wealthy Romans. But Lippinus' methods were so successful that he eventually had to import his snails from all corners of the world to meet the growing demand from Rome. He must have been a real entrepreneur, because he even set up a ferry service to deliver regularly from Sardinia, Sicily, Capri, and the Spanish and North African coasts. He was so successful in his endeavors that others, including the well-known Romans Lucius Lucullus and

Quintus Hortensius Quintus Hortensius Hortalus (114–50 BC) was a famous Roman lawyer, a renowned orator and a statesman. Politically he belonged to the Optimates. He was consul in 69 BC alongside Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus. His nickname was ''Dionysia'' ...

, would follow his example.

Popularization of escargot

The idea of fresh snails apparently caught on, as many Roman citizens began growing snails at home, and the ''cochlerium'' became a common sight not only in Rome, but throughout the Roman Empire. Thanks to Lippinus,

escargot Snails are considered edible in many areas such as the Mediterranean region, Africa, or Southeast Asia, while in other cultures, snails are seen as a taboo food. In American English, edible land snails are also called escargot, taken from the Fre ...

found its place in the ancient Roman kitchen around the start of the era. Pliny the Younger treated his visitors at home with an exclusive menu composed of "a leaf of lettuce, three snails, two eggs, spelled mixed with honey, and snow", a recipe from Lippinus. His recipes even were echoed in

De re coquinaria ''Apicius'', also known as ''De re culinaria'' or ''De re coquinaria'' (''On the Subject of Cooking'') is a collection of Roman cookery recipes. It is thought to have been compiled in the fifth century AD. Its language is in many ways closer ...

, the cookbook by

Marcus Gavius Apicius Marcus Gavius Apicius is believed to have been a Roman gourmet and lover of luxury, who lived sometime in the 1st century AD, during the reign of Tiberius. The Roman cookbook ''Apicius'' is often attributed to him, though it is impossible to prov ...

, published during the first century.

Sources

This article is at its inception a translation from the Dutch Wikipedia article Quintus Fulvius Lippinus

Historical sources

* Marcus Terentius Varro (35 BC), ''Rerum rusticarum libri III,'' chapters XII and XIV. * Pliny the Elder (77 BC), ''Naturalis Historia,'' books VIII and IX.

Articles based on these sources

Giuseppe Del Buono (24 February 2015), "The Roman snail... and a secret recipe of Gourmet Italiano," ''Wall Street i-Magazine''

CooksInfo (30 August 2019), ''Fulvius Lippinus''

PassTheFlamingo (16 January 2018), ''Ancient Recipe: Snails with Pepper and Cumin (Roman, ca. 5th century CE)''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fulvius Lippinus, Quintus Gastropods and humans 1st-century BC Romans Fulvii Italian farmers