- The geographical models of cultural paradigms in historical
perspective (paying special attention to mapping and landscapes'
issues);
- Communication and information's geographical models;
- The map as cognitive tool.
As far as the first and third research topics (geographical model
of cultural spaces and the map as cognitive tool) are concerned,
the relation between art, science, and perception in mapping has
been delved into in the light of recent contributions both from
cognitive sciences and science's history.
As far as the second research topic is concerned (communication
and information's geographical models), I focused on the subject of
technique and the reconsideration of nature/culture relation as it
has been debated recently with regard to the notion of
'environment'. The recent works on the notion of cultural heritage as applied to cities and landscapes delve deeper into such perspective.
A provisional outcome of my latest researches is the book Il disegno dell'Europa.
The maps are objects that still arouse curiosity, but whose persuasive power is far from being widely recognized. Although they are used more than ever on a daily basis, since their digital version on mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones makes possible their most varied uses, their true nature is still the domain of specialists, also due to the geographic illiteracy caused by public education's reforms.
In fact, the maps have always fostered the circulation of confidence in a determined vision of the world, that is, in a specific political reading of reality and, at times, they have made possible its design.
So why "Europe's design"? Because this book chooses to follow the thread of geographical representations of what is now called 'European identity', trying to show the role of maps both as a title to an existing territorial rule and as a foreshadowing of a territory to be achieved.
In this book, one wonders: the Europe we know would have been the same without maps? How much of today's difficulty in imagining and implementing an effective European unity can be attributed to a kind of 'cartographic syndrome'?
