Botanical relics of a lost landscape: herborising ‘upon the Cliffs about the Pharos’ in Genoa, March 1664

Abstract

This paper uses approaches derived from historical ecology to show how\ud knowledge can be gained about the historical and cultural value of neglected\ud urban landscapes. We study the area around Genoa’s lighthouse and consider\ud the long-term survival of individual plant species and some implications for\ud landscape conservation. We examine topographical representations over\ud the last 500 years to establish the landscape context of the lighthouse. We\ud then analyse the records of plants collected by two English naturalists of\ud the seventeenth century, John Ray and Francis Willughby, and demonstrate\ud how the plants were identified and documented. We survey the current\ud vegetation to establish whether any species identified in 1664 still grow\ud at the site. This exploration of botanical ancestry at a local scale makes it\ud possible to demonstrate cultural–historical values of the lighthouse rocks\ud and their vegetation which should be considered as part of the cultural\ud heritage of the city of Genoa

Art and landscape history: British artists in nineteenth-century Val d’Aosta (north-west Italy)

“…We show that one way of understanding the landscape of this part of the valley is to examine a sequence of early nineteenth-century drawings and paintings made by British artists and relate these to the current landscape. Such landscape research has potential to increase the interest and perception of natural and cultural heritage (Bruzzone et al, 2017).…”

“…Landscape historians and geographers have long used landscape and topographical art to understand the social and historical implications of past landscape dynamics on current landscapes (Howard, 1984;Bonehill & Daniels 2009). Several authors have stressed the 'virtues of topography' (Barrell, 2013;Daniels, 2017) in understanding changes in agriculture, gardening, forestry, historical ecology and urbanisation (McLoughlin, 1999;Piana, Balzaretti, Moreno & Watkins, 2012;Piana, Watkins & Balzaretti, 2016;Bruzzone, Watkins, Balzaretti & Montanari, 2017). Historic landscape features define the identity and the sense of place, playing a fundamental role in the development of planning and countryside management in countries like Netherlands and the UK (Finch, 2013).…”

Questioning the view: Historical geography and topographical art

“…Landscape and topographical art if carefully placed in its historical, social, and cultural contexts can provide important insights into the way that land has been understood and managed (Barrell, 1980;Cosgrove, 2008;Cosgrove & Daniels, 1988). Recently, researchers have stressed the "virtues of topography" (Barrell, 2013b;Daniels, 2017) in understanding change in rural and urban contexts (Bonehill & Daniels, 2012;Piana, Watkins, & Balzaretti, 2018c) forestry and vegetation analysis (McLoughlin, 1999) and historical ecology (Bruzzone, Watkins, Balzaretti, & Montanari, 2017;Gaynor & McLean, 2008). The above works use art in combination with contemporary sources and field data, arguing that its contextualization and comparison with other documents provides innovative insights into the way in which landscapes were managed, understood, and appreciated by local and foreign artists.…”

Travel, Modernity and Rural Landscapes in Nineteenth-Century Liguria

“…At the opposite end of the tunnel lies the city of Genoa and its most distinctive landmark, the Lanterna. 24 This detail reveals that the view was more than a simple project plan, raising questions about its original significance. Genoa appears very close, and aspects of its landscape, such as houses and ships, are depicted in great detail.…”

“…The archway is made up of dark grey and light brown masonry with a neoclassic tympanum at the top of it, surrounded by a wall which secures the stability of the rocky outcrop above. At the opposite end of the tunnel lies the city of Genoa and its most distinctive landmark, the Lanterna 24. This detail reveals that the view was more than a simple project plan, raising questions on its original significance.…”