Introduction. Geographies and natures: Facing the social construction of nature in Italy

This chapter aims to introduce readers to the main purposes of this volume and its theoretical basis. Accordingly, the first part presents the theoretical debate from which the authors start and to which they aim to contribute, such as the decision to focus on Italy as the geographical area of analysis. As the volume aims to discuss the current processes of the construction and commodification of nature in Italy, especially in relation to the processes of the beautification of the country, a brief presentation of the origins of the process of beautification of Italy as the basis of the Bel Paese campaign is provided, such as its declinations, introducing also the idea of the botulinisation of places. To conclude, an overview of the contributions hosted in the volume is provided.