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All Outputs (14)

Milan, Genoa and the Alps: early medieval exchanges across a region (2021)
Journal Article
Balzaretti, R. (2021). Milan, Genoa and the Alps: early medieval exchanges across a region. Studi di storia medioevale e di diplomatica - Nuova Serie, 4, 201-230. https://doi.org/10.54103/2611-318x/15766

In this contribution I consider how Milan and its inhabitants were connected both north and south in the early medieval period. I focus on exchanges understood as giving and receiving, buying and selling, leasing and renting, but also encompassing th... Read More about Milan, Genoa and the Alps: early medieval exchanges across a region.

Re-reading The Lands of Saint Ambrose (2021)
Journal Article
Balzaretti, R. (2021). Re-reading The Lands of Saint Ambrose. Reti Medievali - Rivista, 22(1), 41-49. https://doi.org/10.6092/1593-2214/8041

This paper reflects on the observations made by Giuseppe Albertoni, Gianmarco De Angelis, Anna Rapetti and Igor Santos Salazar in their discussion of the book The Lands of Saint Ambrose. Monks and Society in Early Medieval Milan (2019).

The palm landscapes of the Italian Riviera (2019)
Journal Article
Piana, P., Watkins, C., & Balzaretti, R. (2019). The palm landscapes of the Italian Riviera. Landscapes, 19(1), 43-65. https://doi.org/10.1080/14662035.2019.1575112

Palm trees are today a characteristic feature of tropical tourist landscapes around the world, from the Caribbean to the Maldives. They are also a distinctive element of Mediterranean landscapes. On the Italian Riviera they are frequently found in th... Read More about The palm landscapes of the Italian Riviera.

Crossing the River Magra in the “land of broken bridges”: risk in early nineteenth-century travel narratives (2019)
Journal Article
Balzaretti, R. (2019). Crossing the River Magra in the “land of broken bridges”: risk in early nineteenth-century travel narratives. Journal of Risk Research, 22(9), 1101-1115. https://doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2019.1569101

On the 25 October 2011 the River Magra in the far east of the Italian region of Liguria flooded with catastrophic effects, killing thirteen people and causing millions of euros in damage. Managing such an extreme episode is very hard, as local policy... Read More about Crossing the River Magra in the “land of broken bridges”: risk in early nineteenth-century travel narratives.

Topographical art and historical geography: amateur English representations of Ligurian landscape in the early nineteenth century (2018)
Journal Article
Piana, P., Watkins, C., & Balzaretti, R. (2019). Topographical art and historical geography: amateur English representations of Ligurian landscape in the early nineteenth century. Geostoria. Bollettino e Notiziario del Centro Italiano per gli Studi Storico-Geografici, 26(3), 195-221

Since the 1970s scholars have studied representational landscape art to examine changing social conditions, the relationship between landscape and power, and as a source for interpreting past landscapes. Landscape and topographical art if carefully p... Read More about Topographical art and historical geography: amateur English representations of Ligurian landscape in the early nineteenth century.

Art and landscape history: British artists in nineteenth-century Val d’Aosta (NW Italy) (2018)
Journal Article
Piana, P., Watkins, C., & Balzaretti, R. (2018). Art and landscape history: British artists in nineteenth-century Val d’Aosta (NW Italy). Landscape History, 39(2), 91-108. https://doi.org/10.1080/01433768.2018.1534460

This paper explores the value of landscape and topographical art for understanding contemporary landscapes of the Val d’Aosta, NW Italy. The region became very popular with British tourists in the early nineteenth-century and several amateur and prof... Read More about Art and landscape history: British artists in nineteenth-century Val d’Aosta (NW Italy).

Travel, modernity and rural landscapes in nineteenth-century Liguria (2018)
Journal Article
Piana, P., Watkins, C., & Balzaretti, R. (2018). Travel, modernity and rural landscapes in nineteenth-century Liguria. Rural History, 29(2), 167-193. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0956793318000079

New roads and later railways were essential for the modernisation and rapid economic development of North-western Italy in the early nineteenth century. The new routes also encouraged an increasing number of foreign travellers to visit the region. Th... Read More about Travel, modernity and rural landscapes in nineteenth-century Liguria.

Botanical relics of a lost landscape: herborising ‘upon the Cliffs about the Pharos’ in Genoa, March 1664 (2017)
Journal Article
Bruzzone, R., Watkins, C., Balzaretti, R., & Montanari, C. (2018). Botanical relics of a lost landscape: herborising ‘upon the Cliffs about the Pharos’ in Genoa, March 1664. Landscape Research, 43(1), https://doi.org/10.1080/01426397.2016.1274966

This paper uses approaches derived from historical ecology to show how knowledge can be gained about the historical and cultural value of neglected urban landscapes. We study the area around Genoa’s lighthouse and consider the long-term survival of i... Read More about Botanical relics of a lost landscape: herborising ‘upon the Cliffs about the Pharos’ in Genoa, March 1664.

‘Saved from the sordid axe’: representation and understanding of pine trees by English visitors to Italy in the eighteenth and nineteenth century (2016)
Journal Article
Piana, P., Watkins, C., & Balzaretti, R. (in press). ‘Saved from the sordid axe’: representation and understanding of pine trees by English visitors to Italy in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. Landscape History, 37(2), https://doi.org/10.1080/01433768.2016.1249723

Pine trees were frequently depicted and celebrated by nineteenth century English artists and travellers in Italy. The amateur artist and connoisseur Sir George Beaumont was horrified to discover in 1821 that many Roman stone pines were being felled a... Read More about ‘Saved from the sordid axe’: representation and understanding of pine trees by English visitors to Italy in the eighteenth and nineteenth century.

Narratives of success and narratives of failure: representations of the career of King Hugh of Italy (c.885-948) (2016)
Journal Article
Balzaretti, R. (2016). Narratives of success and narratives of failure: representations of the career of King Hugh of Italy (c.885-948). Early Medieval Europe, 24(2), 185-208. https://doi.org/10.1111/emed.12140

Hugh of Arles, King of Italy between 926 and 947, has come to be regarded as one of the more successful kings of Italy in the tenth century. The evidence of his charters supports this conclusion, showing how effectively he managed to insert members o... Read More about Narratives of success and narratives of failure: representations of the career of King Hugh of Italy (c.885-948).

The wolf in the landscape: Antonio Cesena and attitudes to wolves in sixteenth century Liguria (2015)
Journal Article
Hearn, R., Balzaretti, R., & Watkins, C. (2015). The wolf in the landscape: Antonio Cesena and attitudes to wolves in sixteenth century Liguria. Rural History, 26(1), https://doi.org/10.1017/S0956793314000193

The recent reappearance of wolves in many areas of Europe has stimulated an interest in the past relationships between the species and humans in various different geographical locations and historical epochs. The image of wolves approaching and enter... Read More about The wolf in the landscape: Antonio Cesena and attitudes to wolves in sixteenth century Liguria.

Victorian travellers, Apennine landscapes and the development of cultural heritage in eastern Liguria, c. 1875-1914 (2011)
Journal Article
Balzaretti, R. (2011). Victorian travellers, Apennine landscapes and the development of cultural heritage in eastern Liguria, c. 1875-1914. History, 96(4), https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-229X.2011.00528.x

This article, which focuses on Italian Apennine landscapes in the northern region of Liguria, investigates late nineteenth-century travel from the perspective of historical ecology. It argues that travellers' observations and reflections can be rich... Read More about Victorian travellers, Apennine landscapes and the development of cultural heritage in eastern Liguria, c. 1875-1914.