Quinto Mansuino (August 27, 1889 San Remo - June 11, 1981 San Remo)
[From
Les Amis des Roses, 2. trimester 1955, p. 27:] Quinto Mansuino travaille sur « Rosa Banksiae » et bientôt publiera les premiers résultats, très intéressants
Quinto Mansuino began breeding roses in the 1930s.
[From
The Rose Annual, 1981, p. 115:] [Aicardi's] great friend was Quinto Mansuino, and the nephews of Quinto, Ada and Michele, are considered to be Domenico Aicardi's spiritual heirs in the breeding of roses.....Not only has Quinto Mansuino spent the last sixty years looking for new varieties of flowers, but in the last twenty-five he has planned and created with the art and patience of a sculptor, and the precision of a computer, a new strain of roses.
Immediately at the end of the first world war, in order to meet the cost of the exciting work of horticultural research, he devoted his time to his father's small property at San Remo to the roses and carnations for sale as cut flowers. Hopes and difficulties alternated; then, in 1944, the catastrophe: a German unit occupied the rose nursery and installed artillery. Everything seemed lost, but there remained, however, the experience already acquired and matured during the long hours of reflection in the enforced inertia. Afterwards, during fifteen long years of experiments and selections, the chaff is shed and there appears the first precious Miniature, 'Generosa', the head of the Mansuinian strain, then 'Camellia', then 'Biancaneve' and many others.
What is a Mansuinian rose? It is the antithesis of the rose in fashion; that is, the rose with metre long stems; a costly cultural achievement often destroyed when the stem is drastically shortened no sooner than it enters a house.
The Mansuinian rose has a stem of about 40 centimetres, proportioned leaves and long lasting flowers. It is a rose which can satisfy the aspirations of many people who do not like the look of a rose "that walks on stilts". Cut flowers of the Mansuinian strain have been sold in Continental flower shops for over fifteen years. They are finer, but otherwise similar to 'Garnet' and its relatives. In their breeding are Banksians, Teas, Miniatures, R. chinensis semperflorens, R. chinensis mutabilis and a few Hybrid Teas, for example 'Ophelia'.
[From "Al Direttore", October 29, 2011, by Andrea Gandolfo] Quinto Mansuino was born in Sanremo on 27 August 1889 to Domenico and Maria Alborno, originally from Verezzo. At the age of eight, together with his brother Augusto, he attempted the first crosses on sweet pea and roses to satisfy his curiosity. ...From 1919 to 1922 he combined his photographic studio with the activity of experimenter of new floral varieties in the small paternal estate in Cape Verde, where he cultivated remontant carnations and, to cover the costs of research work, produced cut flowers. ...In 1925 he met Domenico Aicardi, with whom he formed a relationship of fraternal friendship, and from whom he was encouraged to continue the activity of breeder. In 1932 he began working on roses, constantly trying to improve their quality through the creation of increasingly beautiful varieties such as Red Flare and Aida, which later gave rise to the so-called "Mansuinian breed", one of the most prized rose varieties in the international flower market. His work, however, was abruptly interrupted by the occupation of his company by German troops in 1944 during the last war, when more than 8,000 plants of new varieties were destroyed. After the end of the conflict he resumed his work as a breeder creating new varieties of roses, such as the Generosa, the Nuova Epoca, the Bianca Neve, the Letizia Bianca, the Letizia Rosa, the Purezza (gold medal in Rome in 1960), the Super Candy, the Zecchino, the Coppa (“Corona di Teodolinda” in Monza for the scented rose), the Frine, the Alba, the Miss Italia and the Superba (gold medal in Monza in 1970). He also created the varieties of carnation Mediterraneo (together with Domenico Aicardi and the result of years of selection), Fede, Rossini, Duca, Sole Mio, Sanremo and Supersole (winner of the "Garofano d’Oro"). He died in Sanremo on 11 June 1981.
