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This book shows how the seemingly immutable Tuscan landscape was largely shaped by modern conflicts over economic resources and cultural meanings.
List of contents
Introduction; 1. Race, nation, land: reclaiming Tuscany's hill country under Fascism; 2. Newer beginnings: the landscape of social strife; 3. Left behind: the rural exodus; 4. The uses of emptiness: rural Tuscany after the exodus; 5. The farmhouse and the museum: Tuscany as patrimony; 6. Searching for the Bel Paesaggio: norming and litigating the landscape; Conclusion; Index.
About the author
Dario Gaggio is a Professor in the Department of History at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He holds a Ph.D. in History from Northwestern University, Illinois and is the author of In Gold We Trust: Social Capital and Economic Change in the Italian Jewelry Towns (2007). His research has pioneered the integration of cultural change and political economy from an interdisciplinary perspective, combining historical methodologies with the theoretical insights of sociology, anthropology and human geography.
Summary
Many tourists perceive the Tuscan landscape to be one of timelessness and harmony, yet Tuscany was profoundly reshaped following a surge of upheavals during the twentieth century. Uncovering the experiences of ordinary people, this book tells the story of the region's beauty as the product of modern conflicts and aspirations.
