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Olive, Fruit and Citrus Crops

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Libraries

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The library of the CREA Research Centre for Olive, Fruit and Citrus crops, located in Acireale, contains over forty thousand volumes. Among them, six thousand volumes of inestimable, cultural, iconographic and scientific value were published between 1585 and 1900. Some valuable examples of ancient books are:

  • M.P.Andrea Matthioli, “Il Dioscoride”. 1548, Bottega D'Erasmo Vincenzo Valgrisi, Venezia.
  • Gulielmum Rovillium, “Historia generalis plantarum”. 1° vol. 1585, 2°vol.1586, Lugduni, Lione.
  • Emanuelis Swertii, “Florilegium”. 1612, Ex Officina Typografica Erasmi Kempsseri, Francofurti.
  • Giorgio Gallesio. “Pomona Italiana, ossia trattato degli alberi fruttiferi. 1817, 2° Volume: 1839, Niccolo' Capurro. Pisa.

The library’s holdings cover a variety of subjects in the field of agricultural science and technology, including genetics and genetic improvement, plant pathology, entomology, phytothiatry, chemistry and cultivation techniques. It also contains manuals and monographs. There are 137 titles of national and international magazines all catalogued in ACNP.
 

Forlì 
The first core of the library is identified in the endowment of the Agricultural Experiment Station (later Agricultural lab), established in Forlì in 1872, specializing in chemistry. Over the years the library was enriched with numerous texts and magazines, including many foreign ones. In 1967 the Laboratory was transformed into the peripheral Operating Section of the Experimental Institute for Fruit Growing in Rome. Therefore, in order to adapt to the new addresses, the library was expanded with numerous new publications merely dealing with fruit. Then, with the closure of the Trento branch of the Experimental Institute for Fruit Growing, this library also merged with the Forlì library.
There are approximately 3,000 volumes, and over 100 magazines, whose 75 have already been included in the National Collective Archives of Periodicals (ACNP). Over the last few years, according to the Administration’s guidelines, the nature of the bibliographic heritage has changed since the preservation has privileged the on-line consultation instead of paper magazines. Currently, a reorganization phase is in progress, with the recognition of the material held and the complete revision of the catalogue.

Caserta
The "Leonardo Angeloni" Library is made up of a historical nucleus coming from the seat of the former CRA - Research Unit for Alternative Crops to Tobacco of Scafati and was established in 1895 with the at the time Royal Experimental Institute for Tobacco Cultivation. When the Scafati Institute was transferred to Caserta, the "Angeloni" Library incorporated the core of the existing library at the Research Unit for Fruit Growing (CRA). The Library is associated with the National Library Service (SBN: code NAP33) and refers to the Napoli hub coordinated by the National Library Vittorio Emanuele III and supervised by the Central Institute for the Unique Catalogue (ICCU: code ISIL, IT-SA0075). Approximately 3,000 volumes (including 15 ancient volumes, more than 1,000 published after 1834 and 2000 modern volumes) are catalogued on SBN’s open access database. In addition, the library is a member of the National Collective Archives of Periodicals (ACNP, code CE004) where more than 400 national and international periodicals have been included. It is more than 10,000 volumes of magazines dating back to the beginning of the ‘900.

  • 250 topographical maps with various subjects
  • Approximately 315 manuscripts most of which containing information on tobacco crosses made and the phenotypic description of the plants.

Dr. Luigi Morra is Responsible for the management of the Library placed in the laboratory CREA - Cereal and Industrial Crops, hosted in the offices of Caserta.
In Spoleto there is a library with ancient volumes from 1500.
In Rende there is a library with thematic volumes on olive growing and silkworm growing dating back to the two previous centuries. There is a newspaper library with trade magazines and periodicals.
The Library in Rome’s office includes thousands of thematic volumes on fruit growing in all its aspects from the beginning of the 1900s to the present day. There is newspaper library with trade magazines and periodicals.

The history of the Centre

OLIVE, FRUIT AND CITRUS CROPS

The history of the Centre

The Research Centre for Olive, Fruit and Citrus Crops (CREA-OFA) is a research centre belonging to the Council for Agricultural Research and Economics. The structure brings together the centres previously referred to as fruit-growing centres (CREA-FRU Roma, CREA-FRC Caserta, CREA-FRF Forlì), citrus-growing centres (CREA-ACM Acireale) and olive-growing centres (CREA-OLI Rende/Spoleto).

Acireale office
In 1866 it was the seat of the “Comitato Agrario del Circondario di Acireale” and then the seat of the “Regia Stazione Sperimentale di Frutticoltura e Agrumicoltura”. In 1967, the Royal Station became the “Experimental Institute for Agriculture”. Since 2007 the Institute has become “Research Centre for Agronomic and Mediterranean Crops (ACM)". Since 2017 it is seat of the CREA Olive, Fruit and Citrus Crops research centre.

Rende office
In 1968, the Institute for Experimental Olive growing was established in Cosenza, with peripheral operating locations in Spoleto and Palermo. From October 1st, 2004, the Experimental Institute became a Research Centre for Olive and Oil Industry with a directorate placed in Rende, instead of Cosenza. Later, Città Sant’angelo (PE) was added to the peripheral office located in Spoleto. With this reform the newborn Centre was able to reacquire some of the activities that it had gained in 1899, following the relocation of the ‘Regio Frantoio Sperimentale’ from Palmi.
Since 2017, the Centre has been part of CREA-OFA, to which the competences of Rende are related. Rende remains the seat of election for olive growing studies as well as the administrative seat of the whole Olive, Fruit and Citrus Crops Research Centre.

Roma office
The CREA-OFA of Rome was founded as the Institute of Fruit Growing and Electrogenetics in 1927. In 1955 the Institute became the Experimental Institute for Fruit Growing in Rome, integrating the three peripheral sections of Trento, Forli and Caserta. The 1999 reform established the Council for Agricultural Research (CRA) which transformed the Institute into a Research Centre for Fruit Agriculture. The most recent reorganization of the research institution in 2017 gave rise to the creation of the CREA-OFA, to which the former Fruit Growing Centre of Rome currently belongs.

Caserta office
In 1860 it was the seat of the Agricultural Institute for the research and study of agricultural science and the Experimental Agricultural Garden and in 1939 of the Zootechnical Dairy Institute for Southern Italy. In 1967 it became an operative section of the Experimental Institute for Fruit Growing in Rome. In 2007 it became a Research Unit for Fruit Growing and in 2015 it was organized as a Research Unit for Fruit Growing in Caserta (CREA-FRC). Since 2017 it is one of the five offices of CREA-OFA.

Forlì office
In 1872 it was the seat of the Agricultural Experimental station of Forlì and in 1910 of the Self-sufficient Laboratory of Agricultural Chemistry. In 1967 the Laboratory was turned into the Peripheral Operative Section of the Experimental Institute for Fruit Growing in Rome.
In 2007 it became a Research Unit for Fruit Growing, in 2015 a Research Unit for Fruit Growing in Forlì (CREA-FRF) and since 2017 it is one of the five CREA-OFA offices.