Restoro d'Arezzo

Who is Restoro d'Arezzo?

Ristoro or Restoro d'Arezzo was an Italian monk of the 13th century, author of the Composizione del Mondo of c. 1282.

This is the first astronomical work to be written in Italian. It contains also, as its title suggests, geological theories: these covered the internal structure of a spherical shell Earth, fossils, and erosion, amongst others.

He observed a solar eclipse in 1239 and noted the exact time spend in totality.

It has been claimed that Dante was familiar with Ristoro’s work. Dante in the Quaestio de Aqua et Terra dated to 1320 did consider related matters.