Iconographie Du Genre C̲a̲m̲e̲l̲l̲i̲a̲ Pl 059 Wall Art

The Abbe Berlèse was the greatest camellia scholar of the nineteenth century. He was born and died in Campomolino, Italy. He was ordained priest in the Seminario Vescovile di Ceneda. He lived and worked for circa 40 years in Paris, where he had his own greenhouses. The first edition of his book, published in 1837, began to establish a formal classification system for camellia varieties. He was cofounder and vice-president of the Société Royale d'Horticulture de Paris the predecessor of the National Horticultural Society of France. He is remembered by the Camellia Berlesiana and Camellia Campomolendina which bear his name.