Similar to the introduction of grape vine and olive cultivation to the Latin world , '' C. sativa '' is thought to have been introduced during the colonisation of the Italian peninsula by the Greeks . Further clues pointing to this theory can be found in the work of Pliny the Elder , who mentions only Greek colonies in connection with sweet chestnut cultivation . Today ’s phylogenetic map of the sweet chestnut , while not fully understood , shows greater genetic similarity between Italian and western Anatolian '' C. sativa '' trees compared to eastern Anatolian specimen , reinforcing these findings . Nonetheless , until the end of the pre-Christian era , the spread and use of the chestnut in Italy remained limited . Carbonised sweet chestnuts were found in the Roman Villa Torre Annunziata , destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79
eruption of Mount Vesuvius
Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79
Castanea sativa