To be published in M. Maggi (edited by), Captioned Landscapes, Vernon Press, Wilmington, USA.
The hiking trail represents one of the many shapes took by the relationship between the human and what in the Western cultures has been called ‘Nature’ – and which I prefer to refer to as ‘non-human’ to avoid the implicit conceptualization outlined by Philippe Descola in Beyond Nature and Culture[1] – during the centuries. A relationship that can be inscribed in the concept, as inclusive as it is problematic, of ‘landscape’.
This essay aims to contribute to the field of studies on intermediality in landscapes by focusing on an uncommon and still unexplored object, the trail, and analysing the role played by literary inscriptions in it. Three examples present on “Via degli Dei” in Italy, a hiking trail stretching across the Appennine mountains and linking the city of Bologna to Florence, will be analysed as a case study.
[1] Philippe Descola, Beyond Nature and Culture (University of Chicago Press, 2005).
Expected publishing: 2026
Caterina Diotto 