Luigi Fenaroli
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Luigi Fenaroli (May 16, 1899 in Milan – May 8, 1980 in Bergamo) was an Italian
botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...
and
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 ...
. Luigi Fenaroli graduated in
agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
at the Higher School of
Agronomy Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and ...
at the
University of Milan The University of Milan (; ), officially abbreviated as UNIMI, or colloquially referred to as La Statale ("the State niversity), is a public university, public research university in Milan, Italy. It is one of the largest universities in Eu ...
in 1921. He performed several naturalistic expeditions, on behalf of the ''Reale società geografica italiana'' (Italian Royal Geographical Society). In 1930 he was in
Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...
and spent 1932 and 1933 in the
Brazilian Amazon Brazilian commonly refers to: * Brazil, a country * Brazilians, its people * Brazilian Portuguese, its dialect Brazilian may also refer to: * "The Brazilian", a 1986 instrumental music piece by Genesis * Brazilian Café, Baghdad, Iraq (1937) * Bra ...
. In 1933 he was appointed vice-director of the ''Stazione sperimentale di selvicoltura'' (Forestry experimental station) 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 ...
. In 1943 he moved to the ''Istituto sperimentale di pioppicoltura'' (Poplar experimental station) in
Casale Monferrato Casale Monferrato () is a town in the Piedmont region of Northwest Italy, northwestern Italy, in the province of Alessandria. It is situated about east of Turin on the right bank of the Po River, Po, where the river runs at the foot of the Montfe ...
in
Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...
. In 1946 he became director of the "Maize experimental station", established by eminent agronomist Tito Vezio Zapparoli. There he directed the
Hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two diff ...
Maize Program, designing, from 1948 to 1953, the experimental field tests plan for the trials of the American hybrids introduced to
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
after the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. He shaped the program for the collection of
seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...
accessions of traditional Italian varieties of maize during 1954 and 1955, and sponsored the program selection of
inbred Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genetic disorders an ...
lines, fixed from such varieties and their combinations with American lines, under the coordination of his pupil and friend
Aureliano Brandolini Aureliano Brandolini (August 8, 1927 – September 5, 2008) was an Italian agronomist and development cooperation scholar. Born in Calolziocorte, Italy, after studying at Liceo Alessandro Manzoni high school in Lecco with Giovanni Ticozzi, he gra ...
. From 1968 to 1974 he directed the newly established ''Istituto sperimentale di assestamento forestale e alpicoltura'' (Forestry and Alpiculture Management Institute) in
Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin language, Ladin and ; ; ; ; ; ), also known in English as Trent, is a city on the Adige, Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the Trentino, autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th ...
. Luigi Fenaroli performed several teaching assignments, starting as junior professor at the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Milan and as an interim
chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. It may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...
of agriculture in
Iseo Iseo may refer to: Acronyms * International Sustainable Energy Organization (ISEO) Places Italy * Iseo, Lombardy, a ''comune'' in the Province of Brescia * Lake Iseo, a lake in the Provinces of Bergamo and Brescia, Lombardy * Provaglio d'Ise ...
. He later taught tropical forestry at the ''Istituto agronomico coloniale'', now known as the
Istituto agronomico per l'oltremare The Istituto agronomico per l'oltremare (IAO) (Overseas Agronomic Institute) in Florence, Italy, is a technical and scientific body of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Italy), Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. History The Institute was establi ...
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 ...
, and
sub-tropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones immediately to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 3 ...
and
tropical agriculture Worldwide more human beings gain their livelihood from agriculture than any other endeavor; the majority are self-employed subsistence farmers living in the tropics. While growing food for local consumption is the core of tropical agriculture, ...
at the University of Milan. He was in charge of
systematic botany ''Systematic Botany'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering the study of systematic botany. It is published quarterly by the American Society of Plant Taxonomists. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the journal has a 2010 i ...
,
phytogeography Phytogeography (from Greek φυτόν, ''phytón'' = "plant" and γεωγραφία, ''geographía'' = "geography" meaning also distribution) or botanical geography is the branch of biogeography that is concerned with the geographic distribution ...
,
silviculture Silviculture is the practice of controlling the growth, composition/structure, as well as quality of forests to meet values and needs, specifically timber production. The name comes from the Latin ('forest') and ('growing'). The study of forests ...
, and alpiculture courses at both the University of Milan and the
University of Piacenza A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...
. As a
geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic process ...
he was visiting professor to several universities. In 1946 he traveled to
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
, in order to study maize breeding techniques and in 1964 he was invited by the
Canadian government The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes ministers of the Crown ( ...
to study
potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...
breeding. He visited
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
and
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, in order to disseminate the lessons learnt in his studies. His scientific activity resulted in about 275 publications, on subjects ranging from phytogeography to systematic botany,
forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...
to
botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...
, as well as on
flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...
and
nature conservation Nature conservation is the ethic/moral philosophy and conservation movement focused on protecting species from extinction, maintaining and restoring habitats, enhancing ecosystem services, and protecting biological diversity. A range of values ...
. Several of his papers dealt with the study of the localization of
endemic species Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
in the
Insubria Insubria is a historical-geographical region which corresponds to the area inhabited in Classical antiquity by the Insubres; the name can also refer to the Duchy of Milan (1395–1810). For several centuries this name stood for an area stretchin ...
region, and of mountain and forestry livelihood of
Northern Italy Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four Northwest Italy, northwestern Regions of Italy, regions of Piedmo ...
. His most relevant scientific books include: * ''Il larice nelle Alpi orientali italiane'' (''Larch in the Eastern Italian Alps''), 1936, for which he was awarded the prize of the ''Accademia d’Italia''; * ''L’ambiente fisico-agrario dei paesi caldi'' (''The Physical-Agronomic Environment in Hot Climate Countries''), 1943; * ''Le Palme e la loro utilizzazione'' (''Palms and their uses''), 1945; * ''Il castagno'' (''The Chestnut Tree''), 1946; * ''Il genere Populus'' (''The Populus Genus''), 1946; * ''La flora delle Alpi'' (''Flora of the Alps''), 1956; * ''I Carex d’Italia'' (''The Carex in Italy''), 1951; * ''Il genere Styzolobium'' (''The Styzolobium Genus''), 1952; * ''La vegetazione e flora delle prealpi lombarde'' (''Plants and Flora of the Lombardy Pre-Alps''). As an editor he was in charge of the publishing the following books: * ''Iconographia Mycologica'' by Giacomo Bresadola, in collaboration with G. B. Traverso, 1936; * ''Flora illustrata delle Alpi e degli altri monti d’Italia'' (''The Pictorial Flora of the Alps and other Italian mountains''), by Otto Penzig, 1932; * ''Colture tropicali'' by Oreste Campese, 1937; * ''Flora d’Italia'' (''Italian Flora''), by T.C.I., with Valerio Giacomini, 1958; * ''Dendroflora Italiana: alberi'' (''Flora of Italian Trees''), with Germano Gambi and others, 1976; * Carta della vegetazione reale d’Italia (Italian Plants Map), for the Italian Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, 1969. His bequeathed a broad scientific legacy, including a large
Herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant biological specimen, specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sh ...
and photographic archive, as well as his family's
botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...
, in the municipality of
Tavernola Bergamasca Tavernola Bergamasca (Bergamasque: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Bergamo in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about east of Bergamo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,242 an ...
, on the shore of the pre-alpine
Lake Iseo Lake Iseo or Iseo lake ( ; ; ), also known as Sebino (; ), is the fourth largest lake in Lombardy, Italy, fed by the Oglio River. It is in the north of the country in the Val Camonica area, near the cities of Brescia and Bergamo. The lake ...
, where he grew plants and crops exotic to the
Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...
region.


Affiliations

Luigi Fenaroli was a
fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...
of the following academies: * Academia Colombiana de ciencias exactas, fisioquímicas y naturales,
Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...
,
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
; * Instituto Ecuadoriano de ciencias naturales,
Quito Quito (; ), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, P ...
,
Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
; * Società di scienze naturali del Trentino Alto Adige,
Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin language, Ladin and ; ; ; ; ; ), also known in English as Trent, is a city on the Adige, Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the Trentino, autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th ...
,
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
; * Atheneum of science, arts and letters,
Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...
and
Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...
, Italy; * Accademia nazionale di agricoltura, Bononia, Italy; * Accademia italiana di scienze forestali,
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 ...
, Italy. He acted as: * President of the committee honoring Giacomo Bresadola, Trento; * Vice-president of the Fondazione per i problemi montani dell’arco alpino, Milan; * Academic at the Club alpino Italiano (Italian Alpine Club).


References

*''Luigi Fenaroli: botanico, fitogeografo, maiscultore (1899-1980)''. Giorgio V. Brandolini (ed.) Proceedings of the Conference held at the University of Bergamo, 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Fenaroli, Luigi 1899 births 1980 deaths 20th-century Italian botanists