Genius Loci: An Essay on the Meanings of Place

Hunt, John Dixon

For Romans, genius loci was literally ‘the genius of the place’, the presiding divinity who inhabited a site and gave it meaning; while we are less attuned to divinity today, we still sense that a place has significance. In this book, eminent garden historian John Dixon Hunt explores genius loci in many settings, including contemporary land art, the paintings of Paul and John Nash, the work of the travel writers such as Henry James, Paul Theroux and Lawrence Durrell on Provence, Mexico and Cyprus, and landscape architects who invent new meanings for a site. This is a nuanced, thoughtful exploration of how places become more significant to us through the myriad ways we see, talk about and remember them.

EAN

9781789146080

Publisher

Reaktion Books

Published

17 October 2022

Pages

216