Padova. Guida alla selva

Presentation of the book Padova. Guida alla selva (Nero, 2025) with the volume’s editors, Silvia Elena Piovan and Leonardo Mora. Moderated by Marco Milan.

Taking the Treccani dictionary definition of selva—a spontaneous association of trees and territory—as a starting point, Padova. Guida alla selva offers a fresh exploration of the city and its landscape. It invites readers to discover urban and peri-urban "wild woods" and to envision "a new alliance between the organic and the artificial, nature and society, wildness and humanity." The volume gathers research findings from the University of Padua team involved in the PRIN project "Sylva. Rethinking the Selva." The guide leads the reader-explorer to discover natural fragments hidden within and beyond the city limits, following routes that weave together geo-historical, architectural, botanical, and anthropological-cultural perspectives.

It is an invitation to view Padua with fresh eyes, recognizing that bosco (wood), foresta (forest), and selva (wild wood/thicket) are not merely synonyms, but distinct forms of relationship between nature, urban space, and society. Following volumes on Venice, Genoa, and Rome, this book concludes the series dedicated to the "wild woods" of Italian cities, published by Nero.

Silvia Elena Piovan is an Associate Professor of Geography at the Department of Historical, Geographical and Antiquity Sciences (DiSSGeA) at the University of Padua, where she teaches Cartography and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

Leonardo Mora is a PhD candidate in Historical, Geographical, and Anthropological Studies (specializing in Geography) at the University of Padua, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, and Etra S.p.A. Società Benefit.

The event will take place on Sunday, August 30, at 6:30 PM at Parco Buzzaccarini, Monselice. In the event of rain, the meeting will be moved to Cinema Corallo, Monselice.