Pietro de’ Crescenzi

Life:
– Pietro de Crescenzi born in Bologna around 1235
– Educated at University of Bologna in various subjects
– Practiced as a lawyer and judge from 1269 to 1299
– Married Geraldina de Castagnoli in January 1274
– Retired in 1290 and wrote the Ruralia commoda

The Ruralia commoda:
– Completed between 1304 and 1309
– Dedicated to Charles II of Naples
– First printed in Latin in 1471
– Had 57 editions in Latin, Italian, French, and German in the following century
– Sections based on De re rustica of Columella

Sections:
– Structure and content based on De re rustica of Columella
– Citations of Columella indirect and from Opus agriculturae of Palladius
– Practical guides for peasant farmers
– Genre of agricultural books continued into the 19th century

See also:
– History of agriculture

References and notes:
– Robert G. Calkins wrote about Piero de Crescenzi in Medieval Gardens
– Various names used for Pietro de Crescenzi
– Pierre Toubert’s work on Pietro de Crescenzi
– Book by J.C. Zadoks on crop protection in medieval agriculture
– Studies on the pleasure garden in Piero de Crescenzi’s Liber Ruralium Commodorum