THE AMPELOGRAFIA ITALIANA

The idea of the Ampelografia Italiana arose towards the end of the 1860’s, when study ventures were undertaken spontaneously in some Italian provinces, first of which were those of Treviso and Alessandria (1869). It may have been these initiatives of Agricultural Committees that induced the Minister for Agriculture, the honourable Stefano Castagnola, to approve in 1872 the compilation of a general Italian Ampelography, to be undertaken by two Commissions, in charge of the ampelographic studies respectively for the north and south of Italy. Subsequently the Central Committee of Ampelography and the provincial Commissions produced a considerable number of studies, which are reported mainly in 22 issues of the Ampelographic Bulletin (1875 – 1887).

In 1879 the Central Committee began the publication of this great work, which was to comprise the description of all the vine varieties cultivated in Italy, accompanied by large chromolithographic plates illustrating each vine variety. In 1879, the same year in which the first issue of the work was edited, phylloxera and peronospora of the vine appeared in Italy, obliging most of the resources and energy available to the viticultural sector to be devoted to the fight against these diseases.

The publication of the Ampelografia Italiana had to be limited, even though over a period of 11 years, to 7 issues, comprising descriptions and illustrations of 28 national vine varieties. Mostly incomplete, this work is prized for the large chromolithographic plates derived from paintings, many of which are real works of art.