Giovan Vettorio Soderini (6 March 1526 in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

– 3 March 1596 in

Volterra Volterra (; Latin: ''Volaterrae'') is a walled mountaintop town in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its history dates from before the 8th century BC and it has substantial structures from the Etruscan, Roman, and Medieval periods. History ...

) 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 Uni ...

Biography

Soderini studied philosophy and law at the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna (, abbreviated Unibo) is a Public university, public research university in Bologna, Italy. Teaching began around 1088, with the university becoming organised as guilds of students () by the late 12th century. It is the ...

. On his return to

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

, he spoke openly against the Medici, and even participated in a conspiracy whose aim was to take power from them. Condemned by the

Council of Florence The Council of Florence is the seventeenth ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held between 1431 and 1445. It was convened in territories under the Holy Roman Empire. Italy became a venue of a Catholic ecumenical council aft ...

to lose his head on the scaffold, he owed his salvation to the generosity of

Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (30 July 1549 – 17 February 1609) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1587 to 1609, having succeeded his older brother Francesco I, who presumably died from malaria. Early life Ferdinando was the ...

, who banished him for life in Cedri near

, after which Soderini devoted himself to the study of agriculture. Giovanni belonged to the same family as

Piero Soderini Piero di Tommaso Soderini (March 17, 1451 – June 13, 1522), also known as Pier Soderini, was an Italian statesman of the Republic of Florence. Biography Soderini was born in Florence to Tommaso di Lorenzo Soderini, a member of an old family ...

who had been exiled by the Medici.

Treaty on the cultivation of the vineyard

His ''Trattato della coltivazione delle viti, e del frutto che se ne puo cavare'' (Treatise on the Cultivation of the Vineyard, and the Fruit That Can Be Obtained) (Florence, Filippo Giunti, 1600), which the academicians of the

Accademia della Crusca The (; ), generally abbreviated as La Crusca, is a Florence-based society of scholars of Italian linguistics and philology. It is one of the most important research institutions of the Italian language, as well as the oldest Academy#Linguisti ...

have put in the Test ''di conoscenza della lingua italiana'' (Test of knowledge of the Italian language), contains several precepts of

viticulture Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...

and

oenology Oenology (also enology; ) is the science and study of wine and winemaking. Oenology is distinct from viticulture, which is the science of the growing, cultivation, and harvesting of grapes. The English word oenology derives from the Greek word ' ...

. Soderini gives a major role to astrology, recommending to bring in the harvest when the moon is in a certain sign and in decline, for "if one collects then less wine, at least one is sure of its quality and its conservation". The book is dedicated by the editor Giunti to Florentine poet

Luigi Alamanni Luigi Alamanni (sometimes spelt Alemanni) (6 March 149518 April 1556) was an Italian poet and statesman. He was regarded as a prolific and versatile poet. He was credited with introducing the epigram into Italian poetry. Biography Alamanni was b ...

. It appeared for the first time with another treatise on the same subject by

Bernardo Davanzati Bernardo Davanzati (; 31 August 1529 – 29 March 1606) was an Italian agronomist, economist and translator. Davanzati was a major translator of Tacitus. He also attempted the concision of Tacitus in his own Italian prose, taking a motto ''Stricti ...

, and the ''Apology of the Melon (Popone)'' by Lionardo Giachini. Soderini's book was reprinted separately by Domenico Maria Manni in 1734, with some biographical information. In 1590, Soderini, under the alias Ciriegiulo, published the first documented mention of the

Sangiovese Sangiovese is a red Italian wine grape variety that derives its name from the Latin , "blood of Jove, Jupiter". Sangiovese Grosso, used for traditionally powerful and slow maturing red wines, is primarily grown in the central regions of Italy ...

("blood of Jove") grape, calling it "Sangiogheto", noting that in Tuscany the grape makes very good wine, but if the winemaker is not careful, it risks turning into vinegar.

Other works

* Breve descrizione delie pompa funerale fatua neir esequie del gran ducq Francesco Medici, ibid., 1587 * Trattato d1 agricoltura, ibid., 1811 * Delia coltura degli orti e giardini, ibid, 1814 * Trattato degli alberi, ibid., 1817. The last three treatises have been extracted from the unpublished manuscripts preserved in the Magliabechiana Library in four volumes. For further information see the manual of Manni, and Poggiali: ''Serie de testi di lingua, t. 1, p. 366, and t. 2, p. 72. * "Giovan Vettorio Soderini," in

Louis Gabriel Michaud Louis-Gabriel Michaud (; 19 January 1773, Castle Richemont – 8 March 1858) was a French writer, historian, printer, and bookseller. He was notable as the compiler of ''Biographie Universelle'' (1811–). Life He became a lieutenant on 15 Jul ...

, ''Ancient and Modern Universal Biography: Alphabetically by history of public and private life of men with the collaboration of more than 300 French and foreign scholars and litterateurs'', 2nd edition, 1843–1865

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soderini, Giovan Vettorio 1526 births 1596 deaths 16th-century people from the Republic of Florence Italian agronomists 16th-century Italian writers 16th-century agronomists 16th-century Italian scientists Grand Duchy of Tuscany people