Taurus Palladius (IV century)

Taurus Palladius

Taurus Palladius, full name Rutilius Taurus Aemilianus Palladius, more commonly simply Palladius, was an ancient Roman author of scientific books on agriculture.

This wealthy landowner had a classical education and personally managed his estates in southern Italy and Sardinia. He passed on his wealth of experience to his descendants. Palladius' voluminous work on agriculture in 15 books, De re rustica libri XIV, has survived to our time. The author begins with general instructions and prescriptions on methods of determining the suitability of the soil and descriptions of various agricultural buildings, and each building is devoted to a separate chapter. The next 12 books give a detailed enumeration of rural work (including viticulture, olive and honey harvesting, olive oil and wine making, and repairing buildings), organized by the months of the year when it should be carried out in order to obtain a good harvest.