Landscape Of Italy Research Articles

The impact of EU law in the ADR landscape in Italy, Spain and the UK: time for change or missed opportunity?

This paper examines the transformation of the consumer redress landscape in the EU and the impact that the Alternative Dispute Resolution Directive 2013/11/EU will have on three radically different redress cultures: Italy, Spain and the UK. In particular, this paper critically analyses the current regulation of the main ADR schemes and proposes key changes to improve the provision of redress in these jurisdictions. The paper also examines how these schemes can ensure an adequate coverage in the provision of consumer redress by fleshing out the procedural grounds set in the Directive upon which ADR entities can rely when refusing to deal with a consumer complaint. It argues that while the Directive creates an opportunity to increase the availability and awareness of quality ADR entities, it also poses the risk of undermining consumer trust in the whole ADR system if greater competition between ADR entities leads to forum shopping, traders refuse to participate in ADR processes and if procedural restrictions are not adequately monitored.

Economic analysis of the traditional cultural vineyard landscapes in Italy

The Traditional Cultural Landscapes (TCLs) have been studied from different points of view since the pioneering work of Antrop (1997). The aim of this study is to analyze the TCLs from a bottom-up perspective, focussing on the internal organization of a number of farms and looking at technical and economical characteristics, and also at social and cultural aspects. The focus is on Traditional Cultural Vineyard Landscape (TCVL) because the viticulture sector is the one most integrated with the kind of tourism that is interested in quality food products associated with a specific place of origin, and also the sector that, more than others, has responded to market changes by increasing the appeal of their products. Accordingly, the economic performance of three Italian winemaking farms was analyzed by means of cost-based method to explore: the cost of restoring a TCVL; the cost of producing the grape and the wine; the economic profitability of the investment in the TCVL; the relationship between entrepreneurial strategies and the use of landscape in a functional perspective. The positive financial results achieved by these farms in different part of Italy suggest that the financial success or failure of an investment in landscape is not determined by the socio-economic context but by the ability of the farm to differentiate its product, gaining a competitive advantage by offering customers greater value. The key issue is not the contrast between those who support the costs of landscape preservation (vineyard owners) and those who reap its benefits (the community as a whole), but rather in the way in which the added value resulting from preservation of the landscape is being obtained and distributed. The results demonstrates that landscape preservation can be a driving force for improvements in farm management and farm income but it is still necessary enlarge the duty to contribute to their preservation improving government measures for the restoration and preservation of the TCLs, and consumer awareness about the importance of products from these areas with TCLs.

Distinguishing between tectonic and lithologic controls on bedrock channel longitudinal profiles using cosmogenic 10Be erosion rates and channel steepness index

Knickpoints in fluvial channel longitudinal profiles and channel steepness index values derived from digital elevation data can be used to detect tectonic structures and infer spatial patterns of uplift. However, changes in lithologic resistance to channel incision can also influence the morphology of longitudinal profiles. We compare the spatial patterns of both channel steepness index and cosmogenic 10Be-determined erosion rates from four landscapes in Italy, where the geology and tectonics are well constrained, to four theoretical predictions of channel morphologies, which can be interpreted as the result of primarily tectonic or lithologic controls. These data indicate that longitudinal profile forms controlled by unsteady or nonuniform tectonics can be distinguished from those controlled by nonuniform lithologic resistance. In each landscape the distribution of channel steepness index and erosion rates is consistent with model predictions and demonstrates that cosmogenic nuclide methods can be applied to distinguish between these two controlling factors.

Farm nitrogen balances in six European landscapes as an indicator for nitrogen losses and basis for improved management

Abstract. Improved management of nitrogen (N) in agriculture is necessary to achieve a sustainable balance between the production of food and other biomass, and the unwanted effects of N on water pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity deterioration and human health. To analyse farm N-losses and the complex interactions within farming systems, efficient methods for identifying emissions hotspots and evaluating mitigation measures are therefore needed. The present paper aims to fill this gap at the farm and landscape scales. Six agricultural landscapes in Poland (PL), the Netherlands (NL), France (FR), Italy (IT), Scotland (UK) and Denmark (DK) were studied, and a common method was developed for undertaking farm inventories and the derivation of farm N balances, N surpluses and for evaluating uncertainty for the 222 farms and 11 440 ha of farmland included in the study. In all landscapes, a large variation in the farm N surplus was found, and thereby a large potential for reductions. The highest average N surpluses were found in the most livestock-intensive landscapes of IT, FR, and NL; on average 202 ± 28, 179 ± 63 and 178 ± 20 kg N ha−1 yr−1, respectively. All landscapes showed hotspots, especially from livestock farms, including a special UK case with large-scale landless poultry farming. Overall, the average N surplus from the land-based UK farms dominated by extensive sheep and cattle grazing was only 31 ± 10 kg N ha−1 yr−1, but was similar to the N surplus of PL and DK (122 ± 20 and 146 ± 55 kg N ha−1 yr−1, respectively) when landless poultry farming was included. We found farm N balances to be a useful indicator for N losses and the potential for improving N management. Significant correlations to N surplus were found, both with ammonia air concentrations and nitrate concentrations in soils and groundwater, measured during the period of N management data collection in the landscapes from 2007–2009. This indicates that farm N surpluses may be used as an independent dataset for validation of measured and modelled N emissions in agricultural landscapes. No significant correlation was found with N measured in surface waters, probably because of spatial and temporal variations in groundwater buffering and biogeochemical reactions affecting N flows from farm to surface waters. A case study of the development in N surplus from the landscape in DK from 1998–2008 showed a 22% reduction related to measures targeted at N emissions from livestock farms. Based on the large differences in N surplus between average N management farms and the most modern and N-efficient farms, it was concluded that additional N-surplus reductions of 25–50%, as compared to the present level, were realistic in all landscapes. The implemented N-surplus method was thus effective for comparing and synthesizing results on farm N emissions and the potentials of mitigation options. It is recommended for use in combination with other methods for the assessment of landscape N emissions and farm N efficiency, including more detailed N source and N sink hotspot mapping, measurements and modelling.

The study of the landscape: from a holistic approach to a social concept of knowledges

Three examples of the study and enhancement of the landscape in Italy are presented. The interdisciplinary approach to this topic is carried out not simply by juxtaposing disciplines, but by the integration of different ambits. In this way, disjunctive thought is substituted by a holistic approach that produces communication more appropriate to research. This offers the scientists a tool that is of paramount importance for their studies, and for ordinary citizens, a new way of considering the landscape. Example 1: Sustainable tourism and man–landscape relationships: Ecomuseum, Castello di Serravalle (Bologna). By studying the landscape of a hilly wine-producing area, it has been possible to observe the signs of reciprocal man–environment interactions that have characterized the area for over two millennia. For this reason, an Ecomuseum was founded, to provide an efficient tool for the enhancement of sustainable tourism, and also to popularize knowledge of local cultural heritage among the citizens. Example 2: Lago Bracciano near Montese (Modena): re-assessment of an Apennine area combining archeology, landscape and history. The landscape of areas containing historical settlements of local populations was reconstructed. This started with archeological and documentary data that had not yet been correlated, which was integrated with geological and geochemical data. In this way, a marginal tourism area has been improved by appraisal of its intrinsic cultural and historical values. Example 3: Geological elements and poetic trails in Frignano Park. This geological–literary itinerary starts from the assumption that there is a specific poetic and cultural value to the Modena Apennines that is linked to the morphological and geological features of this territory. Geology and literature become an accompaniment to a new pilgrimage of knowledge.

Changing patterns in HIV‐1 non‐B clade prevalence and diversity in Italy over three decades*

HIV-1 non-B subtypes have recently entered Western Europe following immigration from other regions. The distribution of non-B clades and their association with demographic factors, over the entire course of the HIV-1 epidemic, have not been fully investigated in Italy. We carried out a phylogenetic analysis of HIV-1 pol sequences derived from 3670 patients followed at 50 Italian clinical centres over nearly three decades. Overall, 417 patients (11.4%) carried non-B subtypes. The prevalence of non-B strains increased from 2.6% in 1980-1992 to 18.9% in 1993-2008 (P<0.0001) in a subset of 2479 subjects with a known year of diagnosis. A multivariate analysis on a subset of 1364 patients for whom relevant demographic data were available indicated that African ethnicity, heterosexual route of infection and year of diagnosis were independently associated with non-B HIV-1 infection (P ≤ 0.0001). All pure subtypes, except for clade K, and seven circulating recombinant forms were detected, accounting for 56.6 and 34.1% of the non-B infections, respectively. The F1 subtype was the most prevalent non-B clade among Europeans and was acquired heterosexually in half of this patient population. Unique recombinant forms accounted for 9.4% of the non-B sequences and showed a B/F1 recombination pattern in one-third of cases. The circulation of non-B clades has significantly increased in Italy in association with demographic changes. Spread of the F1 subtype and B/F recombinants appears to predominate, which may result in a redistribution of the relative proportions of the different strains, and this could lead to overlapping epidemics. Thus, the HIV-1 landscape in Italy may in future be distinct from that of the rest of Europe.

Quantifying rock uplift rates using channel steepness and cosmogenic nuclide–determined erosion rates: Examples from northern and southern Italy

Rock uplift rates can be difficult to measure over 103–105 yr time scales. If, however, a landscape approaches steady state, where hillslope erosion and rock uplift rates are steady and locally similar, then it should be possible to quantify rock uplift rates from hillslope erosion rates. Here, we test this prediction by comparing channel steepness index values and 10Be catchment-averaged erosion rates to well-constrained rock uplift rates in two landscapes in Italy. The first field area is the Romagna Apennines, northern Italy, where rock uplift rates are relatively uniform, between 0.2 and 0.5 mm/yr (regional mean 0.40 ± 0.15 [SE] mm/yr), and have been steady since 0.9 Ma. The second area is the region around northeastern Sicily and the southernmost Italian peninsula, where rock uplift rates are higher and exhibit a strong spatial gradient, from ∼0.7 to ∼1.6 mm/yr (regional mean 1.09 ± 0.13 [SE] mm/yr). In both regions, channel steepness indices and 10Be erosion rates vary directly with rock uplift rates. Although there is considerable variability in erosion rates, regionally averaged rates in both the northern (0.46 ± 0.04 [SE] mm/yr) and southern (1.21 ± 0.24 [SE] mm/yr) areas accurately measure rock uplift rates. Although channel steepness indices do not quantify rock uplift rates, they are useful for (1) identifying regional patterns of rock uplift, (2) identifying areas where uplift rates might be expected to be uniform, and (3) informing 10Be sampling strategies. This study demonstrates that, together, channel steepness and hillslope erosion rates can provide a powerful tool for determining rock uplift rates.

Between Replication and Docking: "Adaptive Agents, Political Institutions, and Civic Traditions" Revisited

This article has two primary objectives: (i) to replicate an agent-based model of social interaction by Bhavnani (2003), in which the author explicitly specifies mechanisms underpinning Robert Putnam's (1993) work on Civic Traditions in Modern Italy, bridging the gap between the study's historical starting pointopolitical regimes that characterized 14th Century Italy - and contemporary levels of social capital - reflected in a 'civic' North and an 'un-civic' South; and (ii) to extend the original analysis, using a landscape of Italy that accounts for population density. The replication exercise is performed by different authors using an entirely distinct ABM toolkit (PS-I) with its own rule set governing agent-interaction and cultural change. The extension, which more closely approximates a docking exercise, utilizes equal area cartograms otherwise known as density-equalizing maps (Gastner and Newman 2004) to resize the territory according to 1993 population estimates. Our results indicate that: (i) using the criterion of distributional equivalence, we experience mixed success in replicating the original model given our inability to restrict the selection of partners to 'eligible' neighbors and limit the number of agent interactions in a timestep; (ii) increasing the number of agents and introducing more realistic population distributions in our extension of the replication model increases distributional equivalence; (iii) using the weaker criteria of relational alignment, both the replication model and its extension capture the basic relationship between institutional effectiveness and civic change, the effect of open boundaries, historical shocks, and path dependence; and (iv) that replication and docking may be usefully combined in model-to-model analysis, with an eye towards verification, reimplementation, and alignment.

The Italian linguistic landscape: the cases of Milan and Udine

This article looks at the linguistic landscape in two Northern Italian cities: Milan and Udine. Signs in two streets of a similar length were recorded and classified according to the language or languages they were written in. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence in the linguistic landscape of the different languages making up the linguistic repertory of the two cities chosen. The main focus, however, was on the local regional/minority languages (Milanese and Friulian). The ensuing discussion focuses on the role language planning activities may play in forming the linguistic landscape, and the necessity to conduct sound empirical research in order to justify claims about the vitality/visibility of a given language. After an introduction on the state of research on the linguistic landscape in Italy, the article gives some background information on the cities chosen and the languages forming their repertory. After that, the methodology and the results of the research are discussed – most of the signs recorded are in Italian with a moderate presence of other foreign languages, above all English; the local regional/minority languages appear only in one case in Milan and in four cases in Udine.

The role of integrated geophysical survey methods in the assessment of archaeological landscapes: the case of Portus

AbstractThe regular application of geophysical, geochemical and topographical survey techniques to evaluate archaeological sites is well established as a method for locating, defining and mapping buried archaeological materials. However, it is not always feasible to apply a range of different methods over a particular site or landscape due to constraints in time or funding. This paper addresses the integrated application of a variety of survey techniques over different sites and landscapes in Italy and elsewhere, focusing on the recent results from the ongoing survey and excavations at Portus, the port of Imperial Rome. An integration of methods, including magnetometry, resistance survey, ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) has been used at the site to fulfil a number of different research objectives. Results of the magnetometer survey have successfully recorded the nature and extent of archaeological material over an area of 220 ha, allowing a plan of the port and related structures to be produced and variations in archaeological potential across the entire landscape to be assessed. The integration of several techniques in one area of the site between the Porto di Claudio and the Porto di Traiano has mapped the structural remains of this area of the port prior to and during investigation of the zone through excavation. Current work on the geophysical survey data, using different software programs for the processing of survey data and merging different datasets using geographical information system packages, has allowed the results of the work to be visualized and presented to archaeologists in a comprehensive and unambiguous fashion, facilitating the future management and preservation of the site. In addition ongoing research is using different statistical and visual methods of integration to refine the archaeological interpretation of the study area. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

An improved correlation model for sediment delivery ratio assessment

In the present work, a new simplified model approach for sediment delivery ratio (SDR) assessment is proposed. Modelling and assessing SDR is still an open question. Difficulties rise from the lack of sufficient data availability, on one side, and, on the other, from the inherent uncertainties including spatial variability and temporal discontinuity of the land cover, climatic, hydrological and geomorphological variables involved. The proposed SDRSIM model tries to skip over the limitations observed in other models generally adopted. A comparison with two different selected models amongst the most widespread simplified models, i.e. the area-model and the slope-model, is showed in application to a wide range of catchments extensions across different landscapes of Italy. The SDRSIM estimates were also evaluated against observed SDR over a validation dataset of 11 basins sparse over different regions of the world. The results showed the effectiveness of the proposed model approach based on easily available catchment parameters.

Producing the ideal fascist landscape: nature, materiality and the cinematic representation of land reclamation in the Pontine Marshes

Using previously unpublished material from the L'Unione Cinematografica Educativa (LUCE) archive and the Central State Archive in Rome, this article examines how film-making became part and parcel of the process of ‘taming’ nature in the Pontine Marshes under Mussolini's regime. Fascist authorities perceived the undisciplined and unproductive nature of the ‘death-inducing’ swamps as something that had to be extinguished from the face of Italy, to make way for an ideal fascist nature that would nurture ideal fascist subjects. We argue that the success of transforming the swamps owed as much to the extensive investment of labour power, capital, and technology, as it did to the careful staging of every step of the project through cinematographic representations. Although planning and land reclamation institutions were responsible for the material production of the reclaimed land, the LUCE institute was instrumental in actively turning this new land into the ideal fascist landscape. In so doing, the paper offers a new reading on landscape and nationalism explored through an analysis of the production of landscape in Italy under Mussolini.

Modelling of Italian forest net primary productivity by the integration of remotely sensed and GIS data

This paper reports on the development and testing of a procedure for assessing large-scale patterns of forest net primary productivity ( NPP) in Italy. The work was based on a straightforward forest productivity model (C-Fix) which uses the relationship between absorbed photosynthetically active radiation of plant canopies and relevant biomass productivity. The objective was to develop a procedure of simple implementation, based on widely available Earth Observation (SPOT Vegetation, VGT) and ancillary data, suitable for rapid assessment of forest net primary productivity on a national level. The original C-Fix methodology, which was proposed in 1994 and has been applied all over Europe, was improved by the use of more abundant ancillary information and more efficient techniques for NDVI data processing. In this way, the method was suited to evaluating mean productivity levels of existing forests. The accuracy of the model outputs was assessed through comparison with independent estimates of forest NPP. The results obtained were satisfactory, with some shortcomings mainly due to the limited spatial resolution of SPOT Vegetation VGT data with respect to the high heterogeneity of forest landscapes in Italy. After including correction factors which accounted for the mean canopy covers of existing forest types, the method allowed the computation of NPP estimates for all Italian forests.

Avian diversity on golf courses and surrounding landscapes in Italy

Golf courses are increasingly occupying land worldwide. This study investigates whether golf courses can contribute to wildlife conservation and to the enrichment of the local biodiversity. In 23 Italian golf courses, the presence of species of conservation concern was related to land use. In addition, censuses of birds and predators were conducted in three golf courses and the immediate surrounding urban–agricultural areas. Similarity between the 23 golf courses and Italian urban–agricultural territory was complete for the groups of generalist species and minimum for the species of conservation concern belonging to the groups of specialists. In the 23 golf courses, the proportion of forested area was positively related to the richness of species and to the number of species sensitive to forest fragmentation. In two of the three golf courses where censuses were conducted, the proportion of forested area, the number of species of conservation concern and those sensitive to forest fragmentation, were higher than in the surrounding areas. All groups of nest predators were more abundant in the two above golf courses than in the surrounding areas. Golf courses play a minor role in the conservation of specialist species. However, a good amount of forested area in golf courses that are located in urban and agricultural areas can positively affect wildlife. Predation pressure upon nests might be higher in some golf courses than in the relative surrounding areas. This source of concern requires future investigation.

The role of e-malls in B2C e-commerce: a classification framework and the comparison between Italian and US cases

In recent years, e-malls have played an important role in the B2C e-commerce landscape. Nevertheless, little attention has been paid in academic and professional literature to the analysis of this e-commerce model. The goal of the paper is to provide a detailed picture of the e-mall landscape in Italy, to propose a classification framework to define the essence of the different e-mall business models and to carry out a benchmark analysis with best practices in the USA to highlight the main differences between the Italian and the American markets.

Paolo Fiammingo: due varianti di un soggetto raro

Summary Present article discusses a hitherto unknown painting by the Flemish-Venetian Paolo Fiammingo, which has recently surfaced in a Hungarian private collection. Following Mason Rinaldi's monographic study, Paolo Fiammingo has been esteemed as an original representative of Venetian late mannerism, who played an outstanding role in the dissemination of autonomous landscape in Italy. The newly discovered painting has a version in the Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow, dated to around 1590. Its subject matter has been erroneously cited in the literature as The Annunciation to Joachim and Anne. In fact, the two pictures render a theme, The Doubt of Joseph, of which no other representation in Venetian cinquecento has come down to us. Actually, it was Zsuzsa Urbach who published a fundamental article about the emergence of this subject matter around 1400. In the Budapest version Joseph's figure is more emphatic as compared to the landscape, while in the exemplar in Scotland the landscape gets a major role. The difference between the two versions shows the painter's double attachment to the Flemish and Italian traditions. The composition may have been influenced by an engraving of Raphael Sadeler invented by Marten de Vos.

Milton's “Perfect” Paradise and the Landscapes of Italy

Milton's “Perfect” Paradise and the Landscapes of Italy