The foundations of European Viticulture: Pliny the Elder's "Natural History "

06/10/2024 to 31/05/2026

This project contributes to the history of wine culture by investigating the most comprehensive surviving textual source on ancient viticulture, Pliny the Elder’s *Naturalis Historia*. It will offer the first extensive literary, linguistic and cultural analysis of the NH’s wine books through the study of literary sources, archaeological evidence and technical knowledge of winemaking in Roman times. It will also open the way to future research on Pliny’s influence on the development of European viticulture in Late Antiquity and, further on, in Medieval and Modern times.