Restoro d'Arezzo

Restoro d'Arezzo (also spelled Ristoro) was an Italian monk and scientist of the Middle Ages, author of an important prose treatise in the vernacular, La composizione del mondo colle sue cascioni.

In 1282, Restoro completed an elaborate treatise on cosmography, Della composizione del mondo colle sue cascioni [The composition of the world with its causes].

[8] He deals with Astronomy and Astrology (which are one-and-the-same for Restoro, as indeed they were for most people at that time), Meteorology, Geography and Natural History (together with numerous observations in merit which derive from the areas around Arezzo and Siena), drawing widely on Aristotle and Ptolemy, on Arab texts and Medieval authors, including for example Albertus Magnus and Johannes de Sacrobosco.

[6] Ristoro recommended avoidance of resorting to miracles in explaining natural phenomena, echoing both William of Conches and Albertus Magnus.

These observations, well calculated and analysed in a pure and elaborated style, make the book much superior to all the other scientific treatises of the thirteenth century.