Between 1880 and the outbreak of World War One, a large movement for landscape and nature protection flourished in Europe, driven primarily by a nationalist culture, but also featuring a strong international outlook. In contrast to the post-World War Two period, the lines in the movement's objectives between wilderness, landscape and cultural and artistic heritage were very blurred, and scientific and humanistic knowledge both played an equally important role. In Italy, a network of associations and institutions was built up and then eventually faded between 1885 and the beginning of the 1930s. Although this network did not succeed in deeply influencing the scientific and civic culture of the country, it achieved important successes and placed Italy at the forefront of Europe in terms of environmental and landscape protection. Among the most significant results of this mobilisation was the law of 1923 for the defence of natural beauty, which later formed the basis of Article 9 of the Constitution of 1948, and the creation of the national parks of Gran Paradiso and Abruzzo, among the first to be established in Europe. This book analytically reconstructs the events of the nature protection movement, contextualising them in the cultural and political-institutional climate of the time; highlights the movement's full inclusion in contemporary European protectionist initiatives; and attempts to take stock of its significance and historical legacy.

On September 9th, 2012, the Abruzzo National Park - now Abruzzo, Latium and Molise National Park - celebrated its ninetieth birthday. It is - along with the Gran Paradiso National Park - the oldest protected area in Italy and one of the oldest in Europe. The colloquium held in Pescasseroli in May 2012, on which this volume is based, reconstructed the highlights of the Park's troubled but always influential history and took stock of its connections with the other protected areas, with Italian and international environmentalism and with the Italian society at large.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.