PAESOLOGY AND PAESOLOGIST

The original Italian version of this text first appeared in Arminio, Franco, Viaggio nel cratere, Milan: Sironi: 2003.

Arminio's coined terms paesology (paesologia) and paesologist (paesologia), derive from paese (pl. paese), which can mean both a small settlement (such as a village or  hamlet) and the surrounding landscape, as well as a country.

As there is no English equivalent that conveys these overlapping meanings - the closest two being "land" and "village" - I have here chosen to retain the Italian the term paese and to adopt the slightly anglicized derivatives, paesology and paesologist.