Garnier Valletti Pomological Collection

The collection of fruit models at the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of Milan consists of 1,674 specimens of artificial fruits representing numerous species from the Italian and European varietal panorama of the 19th century. They were purchased by the Lombardy Horticultural Society directly from the Author in 1871, through a subscription of shares at 20 lire each, with the intention of establishing a Lombard Pomological Museum at the Royal School of Agriculture in Milan, which became the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Milan in 1935. The history of its author, the secrecy of the execution techniques, which were dramatically rediscovered only in 1998, its artistic beauty, and especially its current importance as a testament to past biodiversity and a comparison point for the present, along with its educational and scientific function, render it an invaluable scientific and cultural heritage.