Filippo Re

Filippo Re (1763-1817) was one of the leading figures in the agricultural revival of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
From a young age, he nurtured a deep passion for nature: the garden at his home soon became an actual botanical laboratory, where he studied plants and their life processes.

Thanks to his research into plant physiology and plant nutrition, he made a decisive contribution to agricultural innovation in the region.
His expertise led him to teach botany and agronomy, first at the grammar school in Reggio Emilia and then at the University of Bologna, where he was appointed professor by Napoleon Bonaparte and also held the post of Rector.

Despite numerous offers from leading Italian universities, Filippo Re chose to remain in Emilia, accepting a chair at the University of Modena.
Through his research in the agricultural field, he made a decisive contribution to the dissemination of new agricultural knowledge in the region.
The countryside around Reggio and the family estates became a veritable testing ground for him, where he put innovative techniques to the test, modernising local agriculture.

Filippo Re was not merely a scholar, but a leading figure in Reggio Emilia’s cultural life: his research underpinned the revival of local agriculture and earned him the title of ‘prince of agronomists’.
Walking through the city today, one can still find traces of his presence: from his birthplace in Via Fontanelli, marked by a plaque, to the Musei Civici (Civic Museums), which house his precious herbarium, a tangible testament to his scientific work.

Visiting Reggio Emilia therefore also means retracing the footsteps of this great scientist, through history, nature and tradition, to discover an authentic bond between man and the land that still speaks today of the value of the earth.