Books
TENTACOLI: piccolo catalogo di polpi seppie e calamari (Cephalopods: a book about octopuses, cuttlefish and squid)
2023. Nomos Edizioni, 128 pp. (with Francesco Tomasinelli, illustrated by Giulia De Amicis)
Eight arms attached to the head make cephalopods easily recognized and extremely fascinating. Octopuses, cuttlefish and squids are masters at surviving and transforming, and also clever critters, being able to recognize people and solve tricky problems. Nowadays we do not know much about them yet, but thanks to centuries of research in marine biology, we can begin telling their story: in this book you will find 30 species, with main habits and surprising skills. Can they feel pain? Can they dream? Can they feel emotions? These are just some of the questions this work tries to give answers to, with the awareness that these animals can change our relationship with the planet. Foreword by Craig Foster – (My Octopus teacher)
MIRIADE: la microscopica moltitudine (Myriad: a springtails book)
2023. Pubblinova Negri Editore, 144pp.
This book invites the reader to explore soils, plants, seashore and glaciers, looking for very tiny animals, thriving everywhere: springtails. Related to insects, they come in every shape and colour: yellow, red, blue, white, black, striped or spotted, hairy or bold. Little athletes, they can jump very high, rotate 377 times per second, dehidrate or survive frosting. Thanks to magnified photographs, you will be driven in a tiny world, apparently very far, but in fact under your shoes. Often less than 1 millimeter long, they are abundant but also bioindicators of soil health, studied by researchers fighting climate change, soil erosion and pollution. Scientific textes and insights written by main experts in the field will guide this little “safari”, including an identification key and photo tips. After reading this book, you will never look anymore at your garden in the same way.
OUT OF THE BLUE: la foca monaca nel Mediterraneo (Mediterranean monk seal)
2023. Querculibris Edizioni, 166 pp. (with Bruno D’Amicis e Ugo Mellone).
Massive and invisible at the same time, the monk seal is struggling to regain space on the shores of the World’s busiest sea. Its secrets, enclosed in the folds of the wildest coastlines, are revealed by three nature photographers, who have crossed the Mediterranean in the wake of this legendary predator. The result is a unique portrait of this species, in which aesthetics and scientific facts merge.
With the endorsement of Arcipelago Toscano National Park and Monk Seal Alliance.
VIAGGIO NELL'ITALIA SELVAGGIA: GUIDA ALLE PIU' BELLE ESPERIENZE NATURALISTICHE (Discovering wild Italy: travel guide to the best experiences in nature)
2023. Ricca Editore, 256 pp. (with Francesco Tomasinelli).
This guide aims to describe Italian nature through the experience of naturalistic observation. From the Alps to the Apennines, from rivers to the Mediterranean Island, 48 paths to meet charismatic animals as wolves, deer, birds of prey, but also less popular species such as firefiles, salamanders and colourful lizards. Ancient trees, surprising geological formations, unique landscapes and dinosaur footprints will enrich the journey of visitors. The aim of the book is not creating a “shopping list” of things to see, but to enhance a sustainable tourism, which creates an economical return to communities and local operators, also providing useful guidelines to reduce impact of our behaviors: we are all keepers of the places we visit.
VIAGGIO NEL MONDO DEGLI ANIMALI INCREDIBILI (A voyage in the most incredible animals’ world)
2022. Collana Focus Junior, Mondolibri, 96 pp. (with Chiara Borelli, drawings by Beatrice Xompero).
IL BOSCO DELLE MASCHERE - LA VITA SEGRETA DEL TASSO (Masks’ woodland – the secret life of the badger)
2021. Pubblinova Negri Editore, 128 pp.
This book contains 90 new photographs of badgers life, and texts based upon most updated scientific bibliography, offering to the reader a comprehensive approach to biology of the species in Italy. Large sized photographs are paired also with backstage and field stories, including a chapter on other animals cohabiting with badgers and their ecological relationships. A final chapter covers conservation issues and their possible solutions. Portraits in the book show mostly diurnal behaviours, obtained thanks to more than 400 hours waiting in the woodlands, and 73.000 hours of videos from trailcams for monitoring.
Available in bookstores and online
PAESAGGI BESTIALI (Bestial landscapes)
2019. Pubblinova Negri Editore, 104 pp.
This book begins where wild animals and humans stories link, at the foot of a huge, old chestnut. In the darkness, night sounds make the Great War background far, in the middle of socioeconomic and environmental changes. Last decades saw some species, as Apennine wolf and wild cat, coming back from the brink of extinction, thanks to mountains rewilding, prey reintroduction and protection: a true, bestial unexpectede expansion. Other species, instead, remain in critical situation: it’s the case of Marsican brown bear and Bonelli’s eagle. Of course it is important to consider also smaller species, as vipers, spiders and others, that are very important for ecosystems through cascade effects. Nowadays wildlife photography is a common activity, but we must not forget that it doesn’t have to interfere with nature conservation, moreover speaking about data sharing on social networks. In this work the author, through wide frames, speaks about the importance of habitat conservation and hidden relationships between species. Even because some problems, as climate change and plastic pollution, among the most current and discussed, are absolutely pervasive and transversal. Seen from far distance, our planet is like a single, large environment, where everything is linked, and biodiversity protection sounds like the easiest autoconservation step for humans.
Available in bookstores and online
I TESORI DEL FIUME (River treasures)
2016. Pubblinova Negri Editore, 144 pp.
The book is a passionate ode to freshwater biodiversity. Using field stories, scientific data and unpublished images, some of the most endangered and precious Italian habitats are explored, from frozen lakes in altitude to lagoons on the coast, passing for streams, rivers and big lakes. Crabs, crayfish, sponges, insects larvae hiding on the bottom; mythological lampreys migrating for hundreds of kilometers; a variety of rare and common fish; toads, frogs, newts, including the very rare olm from underground pools; waterfowl and mammals on the shores. And then conservation issues, pollution, alteration, poaching, introduction of alien species, and some projects aimed to save endangered species. In order to take photos, hours of diving in frozen lakes, in the mud of dark ponds and in the strong current of the biggest rivers.
Available in bookstores and online
PALUDI E SQUAME: RETTILI E ANFIBI D'ITALIA [Marshes and scales: Italian reptiles and amphibians]
2014, Archivio Fotografico Italiano, 112 pp. (with M. Di Nicola)
This book comes from a great love for Italian herps, from the wish of making them known to the public in all their beauty and fascination, and last but not least their need of protection. This is the first strictly photographic book about Italian frogs, toads, newts, salamanders, turtles, lizards and snakes in their natural environments, through shots obtained over many years. This work has been published with the sponsorship of Rile-Tenore-Olona Local Park (Lombardy) and Societas Herpetologica Italica (SHI)