The course adresses the main phases of landscape transformation, with particular regard to agricultural landscapes and the Italian territory, with also an eye on other western european experiences. It provides the basic methodological tools to 'interpret' the landscape as a result of the centuries-old, stratified interaction between History and Nature, to be examined with a multi-disciplinary approach in order to appreciate the plurality and complexity of the dynamics from which it originates (political-social, economic-productive, cultural and symbolic, etc.).
In this framework, the course illustrates the evolution of ‘garden art’ as maximum expression of a conscious and planned transformation of the 'natural datum' driven by aesthetic, formal and symbolic purposes. Moreover, the course clarifies its relationship with the concurrent cultural beliefs and the wider transformation of the landscape, with a specific focus on the Italian case.