Questa tesi si propone come una rilettura dell'opera filosofica di Georges Bataille alla luce delle grandi emergenze ecologiche del nostro tempo e a partire dal problema della divisione tra natura e cultura. Negli ultimi vent'anni, l'opera di Georges Bataille ha incontrato un rinnovato interesse in alcune branche della filosofia e delle scienze sociali che riflettono sulla categoria dell'Antropocene e sulle forme del tardo capitalismo, a metà strada tra incubo climatico e tecno-premetismo. Il fascino di questo pensiero dipende dalle risonanze che esso riesce a stabilire con alcuni dei nodi politici e teorici più attuali: la critica e il superamento dell'antropocentrismo, la modellizzazione degli scambi tra ambiente ed esseri umani, la convivenza con le catastrofi. Il nostro lavoro evidenzia il dispiegamento di una catena di dualismi (continuo e discontinuo, interno ed esterno, eterogeneo e omogeneo) che intersezionano la divisione tra natura e cultura, creando un inedito spazio di incontro tra un certo ricorso al naturalismo e un pensiero dell’animazione. Le fonti scientifiche, antropologiche e filosofiche di quest’opera sono analizzate in profondità per farne emergere le consonanze con i temi più attuali della filosofia ambientale contemporanea. Interpretando i dualismi bataillani come il dispiegamento di un pensiero della biforcazione ontologica e cosmologica della modernità, ne esploriamo le possibili implicazioni per una riflessione ecologica all'altezza della congiuntura presente.

“[…]Landscape” means an area, as perceived by people, whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors; […]Acknowledging that the landscape is an important part of the quality of life for people everywhere: in urban areas and in the countryside, in degraded areas as well as in areas of high quality, in areas recognised as being of outstanding beauty as well as everyday areas[…]”. The starting point of this research is the innovative definition of landscape, given by the “European Landscape Convention”, that draws the attention to the need of: - examining the territory as a spatial and temporal continuity; - considering the territory transformations as a value; - giving equal dignity to ruined territory, refusing the idea that only beautiful landscape deserve to be protected. Among the several and diverse European studies on infrastructure and landscape relation, the research focuses on marginal areas created by the infrastructure for mobility (road and highway) in the landscape. These areas are lacking a clearly defined function, they are not anymore part of the landscape, but they have not become part of the infrastructure. These areas are defined as infrastructural refuses. The attention is shifted from the design of the road and from the aesthetic of mobility to the new spaces created by the infrastructure in the landscape. Moreover, the research tries to analyze the infrastructural refuses only ex-post, when these spaces have already been created by the construction and use of a road, or theoretically created in-fieri by an infrastructure project that has overlooked these areas, forgetting to design them, or simply not taking into account their existence. The first part of the research is devoted to define the identity of the infrastructural refuse through the critical analysis of the main theories of the protagonists of the international debate supported by the identification of literature related to the topic. The infrastructural refuse is then described through analytical tools (morphology and perception) that show the effects of infrastructural transformation focussing mainly on mobility infrastructure transformation in Trentino Alto-Adige. The case study analyzed is the trunk road 12 on the stretch called Tangenziale di Trento, and more specifically the transformation caused by the junctions close to urban areas. The Tangenziale is a great artery of traffic that often cuts through the surrounding areas leading to real marginal areas. The research then proceeds to the definition of refuse as a value and tries to highlight its potential for transformation mainly by analyzing the strategy of recycling. Different types of re-use of infrastructural refuses are described: the artistic-temporary use, the daily spontaneous use by the population, and finally the illegal use. The research analyzes the mobility infrastructural refuses: outlining possible transformations, design, re-inventions; illustrating the unexpressed features of the places; re-drawing with different connotation signs that have lost their original meaning; eventually reaching the “operatività dello scarto”. Negative actions like abandon, refuse, waste can become occasions to re-shape and re-think the landscape. The results of the research show the possibility to re-think the infrastructural refuse spaces as a reserves of soil, suggest alternatives to the mentality of the compensation and mitigation, calling for the evolution of the protocols of mobility infrastructure design.

This research has started from some issues affecting the debate in progress on policies for landscape and confronts itself with the actuality of a review of some paradigms of interpretation that could substantiate the practice of landscape transformation. The main questions that will be addressed is what the ordinary contemporary landscape is, experimenting the perception as a tool at first of interpretation, therefore potentially operating, from the demands of the European Landscape Convention, according to which “Landscape means an area, as perceived by people, whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors†. Assuming the landscape perception as a means of expression of the relationship between society and territory, this study develops and tests a methodology for its comprehension, through kaleidoscopic visions which interpret the variety of the situated looks. By means of the methodology we aim to explore how a variety of people experience landscapes and – as a consequence - how they perceive them. The proposed approach refers to the landscape perception as a complex system in its multiple dimensions (physical/natural, symbolic/cultural, personal/ collective) that becomes significant as expression of a contemporary condition of living places. It begets a thinking material to understand values and themes, on which could be possible basing actions and policies for landscape. The Kaleidoscope, which is here proposed as device to represent perceived landscapes, derives from the sense of this research. Actually, the explicit reference to ordinary landscapes implies the awareness that the contemporary landscape can not be understood through a tale made of synthetic and mimetic/typological representations, but is expressed predominantly in ordinary contexts, whose not consolidated images neither shared attributions of meanings exist. The Kaleidoscope has set as a composition of diagrams and narratives, which are translated in looks type and themes for action, contributing to reify the problems the landscape poses as challenges to planning and the perception is offering to return. The research is substantiated by a long experimental stage, when - through an experience of understanding the perceived landscape in a valley place in Trentino - the themes tackled in the theoretical-critical part pit themselves strength the realm of a contemporary landscapes and the specificity of the ordinary ones, which more than others claim the experimentation of interpretative and operational tools. The experience has been set up as a cognitive practice, able to be consolidated and repeatable in the ordinary planning processes. It can therefore be understood as a paradigmatic experience of approach to contemporary landscape.

Over the last few years, academic research and international aid organizations have been underlining the important role that the small towns of Sub-Saharan Africa have in promoting development in the surrounding rural areas and in reversing the polarization trend of major urban centers. Nevertheless, defining the particular characteristics of these towns—which the majority of African population lives in or refers to—and analyzing the relevant transformations that they are experiencing are still unsolved issues. Moreover, until now, policies, programs and projects related to African urban development have focused mainly on major urban centers, while small towns have an almost complete lack of planning on how to accommodate people coming from the surrounding rural areas and how to provide them with services. The aim of the research is to define a conceptual and methodological framework to support the spatial planning activity of local administrators and technicians in Mozambique small towns. To reach the objective of a spatial planning process that results from the thorough comprehension of this particular typology of human settlement, the research was based mainly on the analysis of case studies: Caia and Sena, two vilas rurales situated in a rural district in central Mozambique along the Zambezi River. Together with literature review, a field research was conducted by the author in the district of Caia that consisted of the analysis of already existing data and documents, direct observation, interviews with institutional and non-institutional actors, and a household survey in Sena. Afterwards, a SWOT analysis was used as a tool to manage such a greatly varied amount of information. The research process allowed to identify the main features of the small towns, that are here denominated as “rural towns”, and to understand the major trends related to the “rur-urbanization” process. The rural town is defined as a hybrid settlement pattern in which persisting elements of the rural world melt together with emerging urban characteristics. Vilas rurales, in fact, are traditionally rural contexts characterized by a dominance of vernacular settlement patterns and architectures. The socio-economic and cultural features of the towns, as well as their physical structure, are rapidly changing as a consequence of the ongoing “modernization”. The risk is that a rapid and uncontrolled urbanization process could threaten the natural, economic and cultural bases of the small towns without adequately replacing them. Thereby, some suggestions follow on how spatial planning can contribute to the sustainable growth of the rural towns. The central idea that is proposed herein is to preserve the rural characteristics, which are widely present within the rural towns, and to integrate them with the emerging “urban” features. This strategy aims to support the subsistence activities adopted by the majority of the population and to outline a spatial planning process that responds to the specific characteristics of this typology of human settlement by culturally appropriate means. The thesis consists of three parts. The first part presents the results of the literature review. The origin of the debate on small and intermediate urban centers of Third World countries in the late 1970s is presented in Chapter 1 while Chapter 2 actualizes this debate, also in the light of major processes occurring at global level and affecting African small towns. Chapter 3 stresses the big gap in urbanization theory and practices related to small towns of Africa and focuses on their characteristic of being predominantly vernacular settlements in which a “deculturation” process” is taking place as a consequence of the imposition/adoption of western cultural models. The second part of the thesis presents the analysis of case studies. The research methodology is outlined in Chapter 4. In Chapter 5, Caia and Sena are contextualized within their macro-institutional and regional contexts. Then, an analysis of the rural towns is proposed at the local level. Chapter 6 offers a snapshot of the emerging lifestyles in Sena through the results of the household survey. The rur-urbanization process is described in Chapter 7, first by analysing the spatial evolution of Caia and Sena from a historical perspective and, then, by proposing four key topics that identify the main features of the rural towns and describe the major trends related to the rur-urbanization process. The third part of the research, Chapter 8, presents the conclusions. First of all a definition and an assessment of the rural town is offered. Moreover, a conceptual framework is presented that relates key topics, risks, planning principles and actions related to the spatial planning activity in the rural towns. Finally, a methodological framework is proposed that translates the conceptual framework into more operational terms by outlining a spatial planning process aimed at the rural towns.

Il cambio climatico sta inducendo una precocità negli fasi fenologiche della vite, tra cui la maturazione, un fenomeno che si verifica spesso nelle stagioni più calde e che porta a vini sbilanciati. La composizione della bacca consiste principalmente di metaboliti primari e secondari. Entrambi sono sensibili all'ambiente e alla gestione del vigneto. Di conseguenza, il cambiamento climatico può influenzare la composizione delle bacche e modificare la qualità del vino e la tipicità. La defogliazione può influenzare la composizione della bacca, modulando il bilancio vegeto-produttivo. Durante i tre anni del dottorato di ricerca, diversi rapporti tra superficie fogliare e uva sono state studiate per chiarire i meccanismi d'azione contro il processo di maturazione. In questa ricerca è stato studiato l'effetto della severità, tempismo e la posizione di defogliazione su due vitigni, Sangiovese e Cabernet Sauvignon. / Global warming is inducing a general earliness in the onset of grapevine phenological stages including ripening, a phenomenon that occurs often in the hottest seasons and which leads to unbalanced wines. Grape berry composition mainly consists of primary and secondary metabolites. Both are sensitive to environment and viticultural management. As a consequence, climate change can affect berry composition and modify wine quality and typicity. Leaf removal techniques can impact berry composition by modulating the source-to-sink balance. During the three years of PhD, different leaf-to-fruit ratios were studied to clarify action mechanisms vs the ripening process. In this research was studied the effect of severity, timing and position of leaf removal on two cultivars, Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon.

This PhD thesis provides design strategies to control changes produced in mountains places and landscapes following constructions of roads. Strategies are based on the activation of unexpressed potentialities in places, although compromised, characterized by presence of roads. With the term unexpressed potentialities we refer to functions, attitudes, uses which, during the process of road realization, have not found an appropriate design solution. Topic of the thesis is to demonstrate that these design gaps can be properly addressed by an architecture project, obtaining two results: create a link between places, landscapes and roads and consolidate the participation of architecture discipline in a field (roads production) in which, today in Italy, it is less integrated than others. Changes in mountain landscapes are characterized by morphology and orography of the territory crossed: the factor that most influences in this direction is the verticality of the space. This specificity is discussed in the thesis through the analysis of road segments, infrastructure nodes or other specific situations, divided according to the topography in which there are: high gradients, slope or bottom of valleys. Specific characteristics which correspond to the three different orographic situations are explained by an interpretative study of the cross section, highlighting the potentiality of the space related with its vertical dimension. Most study cases belong to the geographical area of Trentino Alto Adige, an Italian region characterized by mountain landscapes. Some study cases are taken from other Italian regions or known experiences of the international context. The proposed strategies are developed through study of architectural projects, joined by devices that interpret the vertical (overlapping, slope and difference in altitude) of the spaces, reproposable in cases of mountain road. All strategies can be applied at any step of road production, from concept to design to construction. In addition, and we assume that this is the most frequent case, can be applied ex post, when the road is built, intervening to change situations already in place.

Contemporary debate on the future of urban areas is open and far from finding a convergence point among disciplines. As environmental concerns rise globally and connections between urbanity and ecology are being developed, urban-rural fringes are still an overlooked territory. The thesis proposes a shift in the focus as traditional frameworks have proven to be inadequate to track land-use changes in these hybrid spaces. Starting from selected key concepts, a compelling narrative on hybrid urban-rural fringes is proposed. The thesis benefited from the work done within the Interreg Alpine Space project “Los_Dama!”. This allowed to bridge the gap between research and practice and to directly investigate local planning tools in their adoption process to understand the approach to urban-rural fringes and investigate the role of agriculture. The comparison of the tools and direct fieldwork with local stakeholders supported the understanding of barriers in the implementation of hybrid performative landscapes.

La recente crisi internazionale ha acceso un intenso dibattito sulla composizione degli organi di governo societario delle istituzioni finanziarie. Questo studio si pone l’obiettivo di indagare le determinanti della struttura del consiglio di amministrazione nel settore bancario europeo. Il primo capitolo è dedicato all’analisi dei fattori capaci di condizionare la dimensione del consiglio e la presenza di componenti non esecutivi e di componenti indipendenti. I risultati ottenuti dimostrano l’esistenza di un equilibrio complessivo tra i fattori idiosincratici propri delle singole banche e le caratteristiche dei Paesi in cui esse operano nell’influenzare la dimensione dell’organo amministrativo. Di contro, le peculiarità del contesto di riferimento spiegano la maggior parte della variabilità nelle percentuali di amministratori non esecutivi e di amministratori indipendenti. Con riferimento alle caratteristiche specifiche degli intermediari, vengono identificate relazioni sistematiche tra la struttura del consiglio di amministrazione e l’operatività aziendale o la struttura proprietaria, in funzione del trade-off tra i costi e i benefici associati a configurazioni alternative dell’organo di gestione. Nel secondo capitolo, viene sviluppata l’analisi delle determinanti della presenza di amministratori di genere femminile. Il modello empirico integra le variabili esplicative relative alle caratteristiche delle singole banche con un ampio numero di indicatori della condizione della donna in ciascun Paese, attinenti all’istruzione, alla famiglia, al bilanciamento tra vita privata e lavoro, all’occupazione e al coinvolgimento nella politica e nelle istituzioni pubbliche. Le evidenze dell’analisi fanno emergere con chiarezza che la partecipazione femminile al consiglio delle banche è uno specchio dell’immagine della donna nell’ambiente esterno. In questo senso, i Paesi con costumi più emancipativi e un più efficace sistema di welfare a supporto della parità tra i generi presentano la più elevata partecipazione femminile al consiglio di amministrazione degli intermediari nazionali. / The recent financial crisis has brought board of directors of financial institutions into the spotlight. This study investigates the determinants of board structure in the European banking industry. In the first chapter, we analyze factors that can affect the number of board members, the percentage of non executive directors and the percentage of independent directors. We prove the existence of an overall equilibrium between bank-specific and country-specific characteristics in explaining variation in board size. In contrast, country-specific characteristics explain most of the variation in the percentages of non executive directors and independent directors. As regards bank-specific characteristics, we find systematic relationships between board composition and bank’s operating variables or ownership structure variables, according to benefits and costs embedded in different board structures. In the second chapter, we examine the determinants of female participation in the boardroom. In this case, bank-specific characteristics are complemented by country-specific explanatory variables of women’s status covering the areas of education, family life, economic activity and employment, work-life balance, participation in public life and decision making. The results provide evidence that female representation on bank boards is a mirror of the general status of women in the country in which the banks operate. In this sense countries that exhibit more emancipative values, as well as more advanced welfare systems to promote effective equality between women and men, are the ones that present higher percentages of female board directors in their banks.

L’incessante aumento della popolazione mondiale ed il conseguente incremento della richiesta di risorse alimentari ed energetiche, congiuntamente al mutevole scenario climatico, sempre più incline a periodi di siccità prolungata in misura sempre maggiore in alcune zone del pianeta, fa sì che sempre più attenzione sia rivolta allo sviluppo ed all’implementazione di risorse energetiche rinnovabili a bassi input. Il sorgo zuccherino (Sorghum bicolor Moench) è una coltura bioenergetica in grado di fornire cibo, bioetanolo e biogas. Lo studio di tale coltura in risposta al deficit idrico promuove una più approfondita conoscenza dei meccanismi alla base dei processi fotosintetici, e di come, e quanto, questi possano essere influenzati dall’assenza temporanea, o più o meno prolungata, di disponibilità idrica. La produzione di biomassa e la sua composizione chimica sono state valutate per genotipi di nuova costituzione in confronto a quelli già disponibili in commercio, ai fini della produzione di biogas e bioetanolo. Una più approfondita analisi fisio-fenologica e molecolare è stata condotta su sei genotipi di sorgo con lo scopo di combinare in una visione di insieme più integrata la risposta alla siccità in sorgo. Due genotipi (uno sensibile e l’altro tollerante la siccità) sono stati selezionati per l’analisi trascrittomica in risposta allo stress idrico al fine di individuare geni candidati potenzialmente utili ai fini di una selezione assistita da marcatore. / Due to the increasing human population and the consequent surging energy and water demand, it is necessary to implement energy and fuel production from low input renewable sources. Sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor Moench) is a low input multipurpose crop that provides food, feed and bioethanol from conversion of sugars accumulated in the stalk and biogas from anaerobic digestion of whole aboveground dry biomass. This multipurpose crop was studied in response to water deficit. In particular, the biomass production and its composition were evaluated in response to drought for new developed and commercial genotypes for biogas and bioethanol production. The physiologic and molecular approaches were combined in order to provide an integrated view on drought tolerance in sorghum enabling to know which are the mechanisms and with which extent they were affected by drought in this bioenergy crop. The transcriptomic analysis was performed on two sorghum genotypes (one sensitive and the other one tolerant to drought) with RNA-Seq technology in order to evaluate the diversity existing in the sorghum transcriptome that could be related to drought tolerance and to identify candidate genes that could be used as potentially marker for the marker assisted selection.

La Sindrome da Affaticamento Cronico/Encefalomielite Mialgica (CFS/ME), è una grave malattia multisistemica caratterizzata da anomalie immunologiche e disfunzioni del metabolismo energetico. Recenti evidenze suggeriscono l’esistenza di una forte correlazione tra disbiosi e condizione patologica. La presente ricerca ha analizzato la composizione del microbiota intestinale ed orale in pazienti con CFS/ME rispetto a controlli sani e ha determinato se eventuali differenze osservate potrebbero essere utili in futuro per l'identificazione di biomarcatori diagnostici. La composizione batterica fecale e salivare dei pazienti con CFS/ME è stata studiata mediante sequenziamento Illumina degli ampliconi del gene 16S rRNA. Il microbiota fecale dei pazienti con CFS/ME ha mostrato una significativa riduzione di Lachnospiraceae, in particolare di Anaerostipes, rispetto ai gruppi di soggetti senza CFS/ME e un incremento di Phascolarctobacterium faecium e unclassified Ruminococcus. Bacteroides vulgatus, unclassified Bacteroides, Bacteroides uniformis e unclassified Barnesiella sono risultati significativamente più abbondanti nei pazienti con CFS/ME. Il microbiota orale dei pazienti con CFS/ME ha mostrato un aumento significativo di Rothia dentocariosa. Il profilo metabolico fecale di un sottogruppo di pazienti con CFS/ME ha mostrato un aumento complessivo di SCFA e di derivati dell'indolo rispetto ai gruppi non CFS/ME, suggerendo un aumento dei processi di fermentazione. I nostri risultati supportano l'ipotesi autoimmune per la CFS/ME e se saranno confermati da studi più ampi, le differenze rilevate nei profili microbici dei pazienti CFS/ME potrebbero essere utilizzate come markers per una diagnosi più accurata e per lo sviluppo di strategie terapeutiche specifiche. / The Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME), is a severe multisystemic disease characterized by immunological abnormalities and dysfunction of energy metabolism. Recent evidence suggest that there is a strong correlation between dysbiosis and pathological condition. The present research investigated the composition of the intestinal and oral microbiota in CFS/ME patients in comparison to healthy controls and determined whether any observed differences could be useful for the identification of diagnostic biomarkers. The fecal and salivary bacterial composition in CFS/ME patients was investigated by Illumina sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons. The fecal microbiota of CFS/ME patients showed a significant reduction of Lachnospiraceae, particularly Anaerostipes, compared to the non-CFS/ME groups, and an increase of Phascolarctobacterium faecium and unclassified Ruminococcus. Bacteroides vulgatus, unclassified Bacteroides, Bacteroides uniformis and unclassified Barnesiella resulted significantly more abundant in CFS/ME patients. The oral microbiota of CFS/ME patients showed a significant increase of Rothia dentocariosa. The fecal metabolic profile of a subgroup of CFS/ME patients revealed an overall increase of SCFAs and indole derivatives compared to the non-CFS/ME groups, suggesting an increase in the fermentation processes. Our results support the autoimmune hypothesis for CFS/ME condition and if confirmed by larger studies, the differences detected in the microbial profiles of CFS/ME patients may be used as markers for a more accurate diagnosis and for the development of specific therapeutic strategies.