Luigi Piacenza

Luigi Piacenza (22 March 1935 – 14 November 2009) was an Italian botanist, with expertise in ethnobotany and paleobotany.
Biography.
After having enrolled in the Navy where he was able to study electronics, he delved deeper into the sector of radar and audio-visual techniques. Following a journey into Asia with his geologist brother, he moved to the city of Genoa during the sixties and there he started to attend the Federico Lunardi American Museum. Here, his passion for studies into ancient civilizations was born, an interest which he was to keep throughout all of the ensuing years. 
The start of a highly productive scientific partnership came about after his meeting up with Giuseppe Orefici, an archaeologist from the city of Brescia who was at that time involved in an excavation expedition in Cahuachi (Nasca-Peru). This was then to develop into work in this particular field in South America and then as a consequence into the analysis of botanical remains found in excavations.
Studies.
Piacenza dedicated approximately 25 years of his life to numerous scientific projects including conferences, dissertations, the writing of a plant life book, scientific research as an archaebotanist studying vegetation remains found in tombs, offerings made to the deceased and ancient foodstuffs. Also, he has studied the development of agriculture and its changes over the course of time, laying an emphasis on the relationship between present-day flora and the archaeological one.
He made special studies into the analysis of the eating habits of ancient pre-Incaic and pre-Columbian people. One of these research projects was carried out on Easter Island and concerned the analysis of vegetable fibre that was supposed to have played a part in the movement of the impressive Moai statues.
Following his studies into the Chiribaya ethnic group was went by the name of "Investigador asociado centro Mallqui" (The Bioanthropology Foundation Peru), Ilo Peru".
His lessons given at the University of Lima earned him the name of "the Visiting Professor of the Scientific University of Sur- Lima, Peru".
His most recent work has been his contribution to the latest book on the Nasca desert, entitled "Nasca, The Desert and the Gods of Cahuachi", Graphediciones Edition.
In the March 2010 a conference was held in Warsaw with the patronage of Unesco, where a reading performance from piece of research produced in collaboration with doctor Elvina Pieri was held in commemoration to this work.
Projects (participation).
Research into offerings and the setting up of the first large size Botanical showcase in the Nasca Museum.
Examination of numerous tombs and funeral decorations of the ethnic group known as the Chiribaya. Creation of botanical showcase at the museum of Algarrobal.
Ligabue Research and Study Centre, Venice, in collaboration with the University of Chile, the Sebastiano Englert Museum and the Research and Study Centre of Pre-Columbian Archaeology. Doctor Orefici organised three consecutive expeditions to Rapa Nui in which Luigi Piacenza took part in two .
Exploration into the caves of the deep canyon of the Laventa River approximately 80 km to the west of Tuxtla Gutierrez Chapas Mexico. Special research into the botanical remains of the Lazo "cueva" (cave)