Rediscovering Lost Landscapes

Dr PIETRO PIANA is Research Fellow at the Università degli Studi at Genova. CHARLES WATKINS is Professor of Rural Geography at the University of Nottingham. ROSS BALZARETTI is Professor of Italian History at the University of Nottingham.

• IntroductionIdentifying viewsLandscape historyEnvironmental change Chapter 1: Landscape Artists in North West Italy Women artistsAmateur male artistsProfessional male artistsRuskin and nature drawingLate nineteenth-century amateursFrom Vedutismo to RealismoThe Scuola Grigia and Scuola di Rivara Chapter 2: Art and Landscape Photography Fox Talbot and the idea of natural picturesFox Talbot and William StrangwaysThe spread of photography in ItalyLandscape photography in Liguria Chapter 3: From the Alps to the Mediterranean Depicting the Valle d'AostaTourists climbing MonvisoThe Maritime Alps and Tenda PassPainting and plant collectingTranshumance landscapes Chapter 4: 'Coasting prospects' and Marine Painting Views of the coast from the seaWorking on the beachVentimiglia: coastal transformationShipbuilding at VarazzeChapter 5: Villages and Castles: 'exquisite picturesqueness' Archaeological remainsCastles and fortsChurches and religious landscapesCreverina: an obscure inland villageRock villages of the Riviera Chapter 6: Productive Landscapes HorticultureHaymakingViticultureOlive groves and oilTerraces as productive sitesProductive pinesChestnut cultivation Chapter 7: River Landscapes Spectacular bridgesImpetuous torrentsMills, papermills and ironworks Chapter 8: Landscapes of Modernity Coastal roads and mountain passesRailways, the telegraph and tramsIndustrial landscapes Chapter 9: Luxurious Landscapes In search of health on the coastCool hills and hydrotheraphy'In lands of palm'Luxurious gardens Conclusion

A joy to read, beautifully written and richly illustrated, and offers a fascinating approach to how we might engage in the pursuit of landscape history in new ways.