Modern geography in Italy
from the archives to environmental management
pp. 121-151
in: Gary S. Dunbar (ed), Geography: discipline, profession and subject since 1870, Berlin, Springer, 2001Abstract
As in other European countries, the history of geography in Italy can be traced from two different points of view: either focusing on the historical roots of the geographical knowledge of our time, or tracing the history of geographical learning from its most distant origins of knowledge organised in a rational system. In the first case, we favour the didactic function of the history of geography, as we use it to better define the epistemological and methodological values of current geographical research. In the second case, we choose the historical function, in the true sense of the word, bringing to light the many deep transformations of contents and methods of that complex knowledge that was collected over the course of time and put together under the label of "geography".