Review by Peter Reason
We British usually visit Italy for its beaches, for its ancient cities, for its art, maybe for its food. How much, between airport and hotel, do we think of the land of Italy, of its geology and wildlife? Edward Cutler bought a farm in Tuscany where he lives with his family, doing his best to be self-sufficient or at least source his needs locally. He passionately wants us to understand his adopted country better.
I must confess I had not thought much about the natural history of Italy until I visited my friend Etain Addey on her hill farm in Umbria. While visiting, I developed and affection for the rugged landscape, and the donkeys, sheep, ducks, and chickens that live on the farm. I heard stories of the rugged life Etain and her partner Martin enjoy there, tending their vegetable gardens, fruit trees and vines, in close relationship with wildlife – including wolves – and human neighbours; and of their commitment to the bioregional movement. They also told of the sheer terror of the earthquake that shook the original stone farmhouse shortly after they arrived, destroying the upper floor on which they were sleeping. They were lucky to escape alive and unharmed, and now live in an earthquake-proof single-story dwelling.[i] So I was curious to learn more about Italy, and keen to take up the opportunity to review This Beautiful Country
From this book, I learn that Italy is sandwiched between the African and Eurasian tectonic plates, its geology still young and evolving, giving rise to physical features which provide a wide range of climates and ecologies. The Italian peninsula is also well to the south of the European landmass and separated by the Alps. As a result, the Ice Ages had less of an impact on the peninsula than in northern Europe, so that a greater variety of floral and fauna both survived and evolved separately from the rest of Europe.. Carver’s book is comprehensive in this survey of natural history, with chapters focussed on single elements – Stone, Fire, Water, Ice, and Wood; or on conditions that have shaped the landscape – Islands, Refuge, Revival, and Abundance.
The remarkable biodiversity of Italy today is the result of millions of years of isolated evolutionary history at the heart of the Mediterranean and owes much of its existence to the country’s unique landscape – one of the most youthful, dynamic and extraordinarily diverse places on earth.
The early chapters detail geology, fauna, and flora. The later chapters turn to the impact of the country on human history. In particular, Refuge explores the development of monasteries in the mountain fastness; and Abundance the huge variety of plants for both forage and cultivation. But I question the accuracy of the subtitle: How Italy’s nature shaped its culture and civilization. This Beautiful Country is primarily a natural history; there is much more to say about how climate, landscape, flora, and fauna shaped prehistory, Etruscan, Roman, and Rennaissance culture, and modern times.
As I take stock of my reading to write this review, I realize how much I have learned. But the reading was not always easy. It is a challenge to provide a comprehensive natural history that is more than a catalogue of lists, and Edward Cutler doesn’t always find the engaging narrative within which to draw together his erudition. When he does, as with his account of ancient megafauna, the reading comes alive. The book could do with better copyediting – I became very weary in the opening chapters of the repeated use of ‘endemic’; and the many times I was informed that the African tectonic plate collided with the Eurasian one. More seriously, we need maps. The book is full of place names, and most readers, like me, will not be familiar with the location of the Italian regions, coastlines, 450 islands, natural features and National Parks. I would gladly trade the glossy photos in the middle of the book, which do not really add to the story, for half a dozen line maps judicially placed.
I believe this is a book that would have been greatly improved with more rigorous editing and a clearer sense of narrative. However, it is clearly a book which the Italy lover will find treasures.
[i] Etain has written of her life on the hill farm in Addey, E. (2020). The Life of the White Mare: Sobriety and enchantment. Lydney, Gloucestershire: Eyebright Books; Addey, E. (2016). From the Deep Well: The Diaries of Pratale Farm: Eyebright Books; Addey, E. (2010). A Silent Joy: The diaries of an Italian Hill Farm. Westbury, Wiltshire: Eyebright Books.
Peter Reason is currently engaged in a series of experiential co-operative inquiries exploring living cosmos panpsychism: He has been regularly sitting with the River Avon and with invocation and ceremony addressing River as a community of sentient beings: “If I call to the world as sentient being, what response may I receive?” He is writing about this inquiry in Learning How Land Speaks. He also edits Objects&Lives, short writing and imagery reflecting on household and personal objects that retain value through the memories they hold and their associations with family and cultural history. His online presence is at peterreason.net.
Cutler, Edward – This Beautiful Country (Chelsea Green, 2026) ISBN: 9781915294760, hardback, 272pp..
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