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Abstract: Integration of pollen data from both marine and terrestrial cores contributes to the understanding of the timing of the climatic and human forces that shaped the cultural landscapes in the Italian peninsula. This paper focuses on the relation between natural and human landscapes, and the development of the cultural landscape from the Bronze Age to the medieval period and modern times. Two records were studied within independent projects, first the marine core RF93-30, from the central Adriatic, with a sediment source area including the Po valley and which spans the last 7,000 years, and secondly, material from the site of Terramara di Montale, a Bronze Age settlement on the Po plain, which was occupied from approximately 3550–3200 cal. b.p. The original chronology of the marine core was developed by using the magnetic inclination of the secular variation record and two 14C dates carried out on benthic and planktic foraminifera at depths of 527 and 599 cm. Its pollen record shows a gradual irreversible trend towards increasing aridity since 5700 cal. b.p. and, just after around 5100 cal. b.p., a Picea decline and a Quercus ilex type increase indicate less cool conditions. Human impact introduces rapid changes, such as the decrease of Abies alba, thinned by the reduction of precipitation and further cleared before or during the Early Bronze Age, followed by the fall of oaks. The latter started after around 3900 cal. b.p., and became evident at around 3600 cal. b.p. The gradual increase in signs of open landscape and woodland clearance correspond to the onset of Middle Bronze Age settlements in the Po valley, and to the development of the cultural landscape in the region. The impact of the terramare people includes woodland management by coppicing, and division of the territory into a patchwork of pastures and fields. Dry environments are indicated mainly by Cichorioideae, resulting from the continued human pressure, and these spread since the Recent Bronze Age. Of the possible causes for the decline of the terramare, we suggest that climate would have been less important in the decline than in the onset phases. The later cultural landscapes are mainly indicated by the trends of the Olea, Juglans and Castanea (OJC) records, besides those of cereals. At around 700 cal. b.p., the “chestnut landscape” spread while modern times are shown by the finds of Zea mays.

In order to identify new crops in the 1st millennium cein northern Italy, a complex and diversified territory, archaeobotanical macroremains from 155 sites dating between the 2nd century bceand 12th century cewere analysed. In more than half of the sites, taxa were encountered that had never previously been recorded from the area. The new crops are about 30, mainly (~ 70%) fruit plants in the broad sense, which have a clear peak in this time period. Based on the available data, the most prominent time for the introduction of new food plants (both imports and cultivars) seems to have been the Roman Imperial period (1st–2nd century ce), but also later, in Late Antiquity (3rd–6th century ce) and the Middle Ages (7th–12 century ce), there was no lack of new arrivals. Some fruit trees, such as Prunus persica(peach) and Pinus pinea(stone pine) immediately played an important role, and have continued to do so over time, as these are still grown in the area now.

This work presents the results of a multidisciplinary study on iconographic elements and painting technique of painted tombstones from Paestum (Italy), dated from the end of the V century to the end of the IV century BC. The focus was a botanical and zoological analysis of the flora and fauna present in 33 tombs, from both the iconographic and chemical point of view. Pigments (red, yellow, orange, pink, blue, green, black, grey and brown) have been studied by XRF and Raman techniques. The animal and vegetal elements (the formers generally represented with more accuracy and details) in Paestum funerary art are not simply decorations, but they have numerous meanings, in both decorative systems and figured scenes, related to the ideal image of the dead (the social status of the dead, victory, heroic transfigurations, the voyage to the afterlife, etc.). Their high frequency confirms their important symbolism in funeral rituals. The artists' palette is quite limited and coherent with the contemporary funerary art in the Mediterranean basin. The use of Egyptian blue and of a red ochre enriched in manganese is interesting and deeper studies on these materials could help to better clarify the commercial background of Paestum during the 4th century BC.

AbstractThere is an increasing interest in the taxonomy and distribution of the forms of the Portulaca oleraceacomplex. The information accruing from specimens collected in the Italian peninsula and surrounding islands (Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica and Malta) is here described. Eleven morphotypes were recorded: ‘P. cypria’, ‘P. granulatostellulata’, ‘P. nitida’, ‘P. oleracea’, ‘P. papillatostellulata’, ‘P. rausii’, ‘P. sardoa’, ‘P. sativa’, ‘P. sicula’, ‘P. trituberculata’, ‘P. zaffranii’ and a still unclear form Portulaca oleraceaf. Three occur in almost all the Italian peninsula and adjacent islands; three are scattered in the Italian peninsula and in the adjacent islands; the remnant have a distribution restricted to the islands such as Sicily and Sardinia. The morphotypes can be divided into two main categories: seeds smooth, without ornamentations; seeds with ornamentations. The morphotypes with ornamentations are more widespread than smooth ones, probably because seed ornamentations play an important role in seed dispersal, which is perhaps mainly anthropochorous given that P. oleraceais a synanthropic species that can tolerate mechanical disturbance. There are cases of multiple occurrence, as evidenced by the presence of different morphotypes in some of the sites. Such populations can count up to five morphotypes growing together. Seven morphotypes were here recorded from Malta; they are all hexaploid, even those which in other areas are tetraploid.

Abstract: The paper presents a synthesis of the on-site archaeobotanical investigations of the Terramara di Montale, one of the most important sites of the Terramara cultural system which characterised the Po Plain in the Middle-Late Bronze Age (1650–1200 b.c.). Samples for pollen analysis and macroremains, including seed/fruit and wood/charcoal records, were collected from stratigraphic sequences and occupation levels during the excavations 1996–2001. The results permitted the reconstruction of the main characteristics of the landscape which at the onset of the Terramara rapidly passed from a natural, more forested landscape with mixed oak wood and conifers to a more open and anthropic landscape characterised by cereal fields, pastures and meadows. People felled oaks and other trees such as Populus/Salix and Fraxinus to make piles or walls for houses. Wood from these species was also recorded as charcoal in the hearths. Palynological and carpological data show that the inhabitants of the Terramara largely founded their economy on cereals (mainly Triticum aestivum/durum, T. dicoccum and Hordeum vulgare). They also grew a few legumes (Vicia faba var. minor, Vicia sp. and Lens culinaris). There was also grazing by domestic animals, mainly ovicaprines but also pigs and cattle, and these were fed exploiting wild plants such as Carpinus. In the paper the four main steps of the history of the Terramara are described (before the Terramara, the onset, the Terramara phase, the decline) during which both human influence and climatic changes were important. At the onset of the Terramara (around 1600 b.c.) a warm and possibly dry phase occurred. The intense use of the territory and a climatic deterioration at around 1300 b.c. might have triggered the decline of the Terramara di Montale.

Results are presented from archaeobotanical analyses carried out in ‘The Mirror Pit’, a rectangular pit, situated in the city of Ferrara, in Emilia Romagna—Northern Italy. The study is part of wider research focused on the Mediaeval period of this city. The pit belongs to a building which was in use from the second half of 14th to the end of 15th century a.d.The pit itself was filled with domestic rubbish during a few years in the middle of the 15th century. The layers were preserved by waterlogging and are therefore extraordinarily rich in organic remains and artifacts, among which was the beautiful spherical mirror which gave its name to the pit. Approximately 256,000 well-preserved seeds and fruits belonging to 98 species or carpological types were identified in 12 l of sediment from the different layers. Ficus carica, Brassica rapasubsp. rapa/subsp. sylvestrisand Vitis viniferasubsp. viniferaprevailed. Many cultivated plants and weeds were present, together with a smaller number of wild plants of wet environments and woodlands. Altogether they provided much new information on the diet (cultivated and wild fruits, cereals and pulses, vegetables, spices and medicinal/fibre/oil plants) of the middle to upper class inhabitants of a city in Northern Italy during the Renaissance period. The records also yielded evidence of domestic activities such as winemaking, oil making, mustard making and other kitchen practices.Results are presented from archaeobotanical analyses carried out in ‘The Mirror Pit’, a rectangular pit, situated in the city of Ferrara, in Emilia Romagna—Northern Italy. The study is part of wider research focused on the Mediaeval period of this city. The pit belongs to a building which was in use from the second half of 14th to the end of 15th century a.d.The pit itself was filled with domestic rubbish during a few years in the middle of the 15th century. The layers were preserved by waterlogging and are therefore extraordinarily rich in organic remains and artifacts, among which was the beautiful spherical mirror which gave its name to the pit. Approximately 256,000 well-preserved seeds and fruits belonging to 98 species or carpological types were identified in 12 l of sediment from the different layers. Ficus carica, Brassica rapasubsp. rapa/subsp. sylvestrisand Vitis viniferasubsp. viniferaprevailed. Many cultivated plants and weeds were present, together with a smaller number of wild plants of wet environments and woodlands. Altogether they provided much new information on the diet (cultivated and wild fruits, cereals and pulses, vegetables, spices and medicinal/fibre/oil plants) of the middle to upper class inhabitants of a city in Northern Italy during the Renaissance period. The records also yielded evidence of domestic activities such as winemaking, oil making, mustard making and other kitchen practices.

Abstract.: The cores from the Albano and Nemi lakes, near Rome, were studied within the European Union funded PALICLAS project and provided high resolution records of the Late-glacial and Holocene. Pollen evidence of increasing human influence on vegetation was recorded in the Holocene parts of both diagrams, and the Cannabis (hemp) curve was one of the major signs. In this paper we present unambiguous pollen evidence from the Cannabaceae records for the cultivation of hemp in central Italy by the Romans. The oldest records of Cannabis and Humulus (hop) date from to the Late-glacial. Hop pollen values rise during the mid Holocene, while hemp pollen becomes more abundant from ca. 3000 cal B.P. onwards. The highest earliest hemp peak (21%) is dated to the 1st century A.D. This ‘Cannabis phase’, with the abrupt rise of hemp pollen soon after the rise of cultivated trees (Castanea, Juglans and Olea) is associated with the increase in cereals and ruderal plants. This unambiguous proof of cultivation by Romans around 2000 B.P. occurs as well as a long lasting pre-Roman presence of hemp in the area, which is natural and possibly also anthropogenic. Subsequent clear episodes of cultivation in the medieval period were found.

Summary According to the program “Palynological Italian Flora, Aeropalynological section”, the pollen morphological card ofPinus pinea L. is presented. The study is carried out on pollen coming from three Italian localities and regards “fresh” and acetolyzed pollen. For each sample, measurements are carried out on 30 “fresh” pollen grains in glicerol jelly with fuchsin and on 30 acetolyzed pollen grains in water/glicerol (1/1); general observations regard 1000 “fresh” and 1000 acetolyzed pollen grains/sample. Some observations on the main differences between “fresh” and acetolyzed pollen are mentioned.

Riassunto: Nell'ambito del progetto «Flora Palinologica Italiana» e proseguendo lo studio delle Corylaceae, è qui presentata la scheda diCarpinus betulusL., con alcune osservazioni sul numero/posizione delle aperture e sulle principali differenze tra polline «fresco» e polline acetolizzato.

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According to the program «Palynological Italian Flora», the palynological card ofOstrya carpinifoliaScop. for «fresh» and acetolyzed pollen grains is presented. Some morphologic observations on the aperture number and the main differences between «fresh» /acetolyzed pollen are mentioned. Nell'ambito del programma della Flora Palinologica Italiana, è state redatta la scheda palinologica diOstrya carpinifoliaScop. Sono riportate alcune osservazioni morfologiche sul numero delle aperture e sulle principali differenze tra polline «fresco» e acetolizzato.

This contribution to the «Palynological Italian Flora, Aeropalynological Section» deals withCupressus sempervirensL. (Mediterranean cypress). Palynological card regards fresh and acetolyzed pollen. Viene presentata la scheda palinologica diCupressus sempervirensL. (cipresso comune), redatta su polline fresco e acetolizzato secondo il programma della «Flora Palinologica Italiana, Sezione Aeropalinologica».

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This paper reports on pollen analyses carried out in the course of a ten-year investigation, on many thousands of cytological smears coming from various organs and systems of the human body, and prepared for diagnostic purposes. The frequency and the significance of the pollen records vary according to the specific cytological field taken into account. In the urinary sediment smears, nipple secretions, and needle aspirations the polliniferous smears are very few, and the pollen number per smear is low (max 14 pollen grains, belonging always or mostly to anemophilous species). In these cases, the pollen records evidence the airborne contamination during medical procedures, the same happens with most of cervico-vaginal smears. In some cervico-vaginal smears, the high frequency of pollen grains belonging to pharmaceutical taxa suggests that lavages with vegetable components were used by the patients before undergoing the test. In nasal, bronchial and conjunctival cytology greater amounts of polliniferous slides were recorded (in bronchial/nasal cytology also a higher number of pollen grains per smears, up to 114-428 respectively) and pollen spectra reflected the vegetational environment of the patients' living sites. In these cases, most pollen grains are thought to be really present on mucosae when the samples were taken. In these cytological fields pollen analysis may be useful for diagnostic purposes, above all in case of allergic pathology to detect the pollen grains causing the disease.

Effects of temperature and sea water on germination behaviour of Althenia filiformis Petit seeds. - Germination capacity and energy of Althenia filiformis Petit seeds have been investigated, 90 and 180 days after ripening, to carry out a preliminary study on ecology of this species.This species, halophite and hydrophyte, is spreaded along the coast shores of middle-west mediterranean sea and atlantic shores of Morocco, Spain, Portugal and France.Seeds were soaked in the dark, at 10°, 20°, 30°C, in solutions at different salt concentration: sea water; sea water diluted in deionized water at ratios (v/v) 1: 2, 1: 4, 1: 8; sea water plus 26 gr/l NaCl; deionized water, as control.The experimental results show that germination is reduced and delayed when seeds are soaked in progressively concentrated salt solutions; in sea water plus 26 gr/l NaCl seed germination is inhibited.Seeds pretreated by soaking at 3°C for 10 days in sea water diluted (1:1) by deionized water did not show, when soaked in salt solution at weak and middle concentration, any delay in germination in comparison with unpretreated seeds. On the contrary, pretreated and unpretreated seeds sown in sea water at 30°C had shown, 180 days after ripening, a significant depression in germination values as compared with seeds sown at 20°C.

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