This article analyzes Italian research and experimentation on the economic potential of certain plant species in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, also providing insight into beekeeping and honey production. It focuses on continuity of method and progress across regimes and on the invisibility of many of the actors involved in the development of agricultural science and food research. Specifically, “continuity” refers to the continuation of certain threads of Old-Regime experimentation by the scientific apparatus put in place during the Napoleonic era. These threads were reworked and strengthened with the new means available to Frenchified Europe. The concept of “invisibility” derives from an expression by Steven Shapin and refers to actors who contributed to the development of agricultural science while remaining in the shadows. These include various types of technicians and members of rural society who supported the scientific work of scholars without receiving overt recognition. Continuity and invisibility were therefore two fundamental components both in the epistemological development of agricultural science and in the improvement of food research. The article analyzes case studies mainly from northern Italy – or rather, the various geopolitical entities existing in this geographical region – during the late Old Regime and the Napoleonic era, comparing them with examples from all over Europe.

本文分析了意大利在 18 世纪末和 19 世纪初对某些植物物种的经济潜力进行的研究和实验，还提供了对养蜂和蜂蜜生产的深入了解。它侧重于跨制度的方法和进展的连续性，以及参与农业科学和食品研究发展的许多参与者的不可见性。具体来说，“连续性”是指拿破仑时代建立的科学仪器对旧制度实验的某些线索的延续。这些线程被重新设计并通过法国化的欧洲可用的新方法得到加强。“隐形”的概念源自史蒂文·沙平的一个表达，指的是那些为农业科学的发展做出贡献但仍处于阴影中的演员。其中包括各种类型的技术人员和农村社会成员，他们在没有得到公开承认的情况下支持学者的科学工作。因此，连续性和不可见性是农业科学认识论发展和食品研究改进的两个基本组成部分。本文分析了旧政权晚期和拿破仑时代主要来自意大利北部的案例研究——或者更确切地说，是该地理区域中存在的各种地缘政治实体，并将它们与欧洲各地的例子进行了比较。因此，连续性和不可见性是农业科学认识论发展和食品研究改进的两个基本组成部分。本文分析了旧政权晚期和拿破仑时代主要来自意大利北部的案例研究——或者更确切地说，是该地理区域中存在的各种地缘政治实体，并将它们与欧洲各地的例子进行了比较。因此，连续性和不可见性是农业科学认识论发展和食品研究改进的两个基本组成部分。本文分析了旧政权晚期和拿破仑时代主要来自意大利北部——或者更确切地说，存在于该地理区域的各种地缘政治实体——的案例研究，并将它们与来自欧洲各地的例子进行了比较。