Is it better to acclimate or substitute? Plant products, science and economy in Northern Italy (late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries)

In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, in an increasingly tense international situation, European states invested in the search for resources and products that could limit imports from other countries. In particular, research in the plant kingdom was encouraged with the aim of both acclimating non-native species and finding substitutes for imported products. This article analyses the beneficial effect that experimentation and debate on acclimatization and surrogates had on the Italian scientific network. The lively scientific community of Northern Italy actively contributed to this effort. Dialoguing with other Italian and European experts and institutions, it managed to expand its network of contacts and strengthen its communication channels.