PLINY THE ELDER: A GREAT NATURALIST

Gaius Plinius Secondus, also known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, admiral and naturalist, known for his insatiable curiosity: his interests primarily revolved around studying and observing the plant, mineral and human world, focusing in particular on the causes of natural phenomena.

Though most of his work has been lost, he was a very prolific scholar and writer. His only surviving work, however, is the “Naturalis historia”, an encyclopaedia in 37 books representing a huge amount of research and preparation and drawing on over 2,000 books and 500 different authors. It covers topics such as geography, botany, anthropology, medicine, history of art and mineralogy.

The encyclopaedia became a point of reference for all scholars of antiquity, particularly in the Medieval and Renaissance periods; it is thanks in part to Pliny the Elder that subsequent scholars were able to classify and engage in the scientific study of plants.

His writings on the plant world contain an interesting mix of information, trivia and recommendations for how to eat the plants, which almost foreshadow our modern dietary principles. It also includes a specific section on their medicinal uses, discussing their refreshing properties, appetite-stimulating effects and much more.

We could say, therefore, that it is thanks to his great efforts in collecting, organising and presenting this knowledge that we are aware of the beneficial properties of the medicinal plants and aromatic herbs that we use in the kitchen today.

Pliny the Elder was also the source of inspiration for botanical gardens, the first of which opened in Padua in 1545 and can still be visited today. The oldest plant in the Padua Botanical Gardens is a St. Peter's Palm, known as Goethe's Palm because it inspired the German writer, during a visit to Padua in September 1786, to develop a theory on the metamorphosis of plants.

In 1997, UNESCO included it on the World heritage list of protected sites

1997 was the year in which UNESCO included the Padua Botanical Garden on its list of protected sites, and the year in which Simonato started to move towards organic farming methods: for more than twenty years, it has been supplying discerning consumers with certified organic aromatic plants, grown according to scrupulous production processes that respect nature and the environment.

For any information or requests in relation to our products or the most suitable packaging solutions for your needs, e-mail us at info@simonato.com.