Towards a Holistic Concept of Landscape. From Croce to Pareyson

This article outlines the evolution of the concept of landscape from an idealistic and dualistic framework to a more integrated and holistic approach in Italian philosophy of the twentieth century. I will single out Benedetto Croce’s perspective on landscape and Luigi Pareyson’s aesthetic theory as the two poles of such a course. On the one hand, Croce’s name is associated with the first great Italian law devoted to the protection of landscape, but his conception of landscape still stems from a dualistic understanding of nature and culture, art and science. On the other hand, while Pareyson has never expressly addressed the issue of landscape, his philosophical aesthetics provides useful elements to radically rethink landscape in non idealistic terms. In the present work I will discuss some of these elements, namely, Pareyson’s conception of physical matter, the role played by wonder in the process of knowledge, and the contemplative dimension of aesthetic appreciation.