A Bolognese nobleman, he wrote the important 1653 treatise entitled L'economia del cittadino in villa (The economy of the citizen in the country).
Tanara had established a close friendship with the cardinal Francesco Sforza who had a large library in Bologna.
He wrote a manuscript on bird hunting, that remained unpublished until the 19th century: La caccia degli uccelli.
[1] In his major work, Tanara wrote of plants in order to provide a guide for "city dwellers.
"[2] In Botanical Progress, Horticultural Innovation and Cultural Changes, it written that Tanara's "handbooks became very popular among land stewards as landowners were losing their interest in direct management of their estates."