Frederick Bradley
I am a naturalist and geologist, and for over forty years I have worked professionally in the technical and economic evaluation of ornamental stone deposits. This work, carried out worldwide, has allowed me to deepen my study of the landscape as a product of the interaction between the natural environment and the modifying action of humankind.
I have served as a consultant on projects for UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization), EC/FED (European Commission/European Development Fund), MAE (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), and ICE (Italian Trade Agency).
In 2004, I created the GUIPA brand, initially intended for publishing landscape guides for cultural tourism, later extended to essays, manuals, and fiction. In 2019, I launched the website Occhio al Paesaggio (Eye on the Landscape) with the goal of making the reading and interpretation of landscapes—as defined by the European Landscape Convention—accessible to non-specialists. The ultimate aim is to lay the foundation for a new cultural approach to understanding the territory.
I have delivered seminars on landscape reading at the Universities of Florence, Genoa, and Bologna. Since 2022, I’ve been collaborating regularly in the Landscape Design and Planning Laboratory as part of the Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture at the University of Florence’s School of Architecture.
In total, I have published over thirty books, about half of which are dedicated to the theme of the landscape. I periodically hold courses on landscape reading, aimed at both professionals and laypeople interested in understanding, valuing, safeguarding, and planning landscapes and territories.