This Beautiful Country

Italy is celebrated for its antiquity, art, cuisine and culture, yet one of its greatest wonders has long remained overlooked, even by Italians themselves: its extraordinary natural history.

Home to more than 58,000 animal species and nearly 7,000 plant species, the country contains around a third of Europe’s flora and fauna. Thousands of these species are found nowhere else on Earth. From the glaciers of the Alps to the volcanoes of Sicily, Italy’s dramatic geology and fractured landscapes have created one of the richest concentrations of biodiversity in the Western world, alongside an astonishing diversity of foods, crops and agricultural traditions. Italy possesses more grape varieties than France, more wheat varieties than the United States, hundreds of local tomatoes, and countless distinctive olives, citrus fruits and chestnuts tied to place and history.

Edward Cutler began exploring this hidden history after discovering, on his small Tuscan farm, a salamander endemic to that particular corner of Italy. The discovery led him into a wider investigation of how the peninsula itself was formed: a young, restless and still-changing land shaped by volcanoes, tectonic upheaval and climatic refuge. In time, he came to realise that Italy’s natural history did not merely shape its landscapes, but profoundly influenced its civilisation, agriculture, regional identities and enduring relationship with food.

Alongside Italian biologists, conservationists and natural historians, Edward traces a journey through deep time, biodiversity and culture, revealing Italy as one of the most ecologically and geologically remarkable countries on Earth.

Publishing September 2026
1 September — UK & US with Chelsea Green Publishing
29 September — Italy as L’Italia Nascosta with Mondadori

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Available for Preorder now

USA - Penguin Random house ; Rizzoli & Amazon

UK -  Waterstones & Amazon

ITALIA - In arrivo

‘This marvellous, kaleidoscopic paean to a world of Italian nature that is nearly unknown is divine. … A must-buy for travellers and dreamers or any naturalists.’

Derek Gow, author of Hunt for the Shadow Wolf

‘A deep dive into how hundreds of millions of years of evolution and Earth history have shaped the beauty of modern-day Italy. This engaging and enlightening book will give you a whole new perspective on how one of the world’s most fascinating countries and cultures came to be.’

Steve Brusatte, New York Times bestselling author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs

In This Beautiful Country Ed Cutler describes in epic, beautiful detail the unique natural wonders of his adopted country, Italy. 

Ben Goldsmith, author of God is an Octopus

‘Probably the best book on the natural and cultural history of Italy since Pliny the Elder.’

Clive Oppenheimer, author of Mountains of Fire

‘This Beautiful Country guides readers through the immense richness of Italy’s biological and cultural diversity – species, ecosystems, landscapes, arts, customs, dialects, culinary traditions and more. … A love letter to the country Cutler has chosen as his home.’

Luigi Boitani, professor emeritus of conservation biology, Sapienza University of Rome

'If you want to really know Italy, this beautiful, enchanting, witty book is as essential as a visit to the Uffizi, or a plate of cacio e pepe in Rome. It reveals the real Bella Italia for the first time.’

Tim Flannery, author of Europe: The First 100 Million Years

‘From the bubbling quadruple summit craters of Mount Etna to the subterranean weirdness of the sightless, lungless ancient olm, Edward Cutler takes the reader on a kaleidoscopic compendium of Italian natural history and wonderment. I didn’t think it possible to encapsulate the geography and biodiversity of a country as multifaceted as Italy into a single book, but Edward Cutler has achieved the near impossible. This is a truly magical and important book’

Merlin Hanbury -Tenison, author of Our Oaken Bones

Here is Italy as you’ve never seen it, hiding in plain sight. This Beautiful Country is a stirring exploration of the still underappreciated uniqueness and diversity of Italy’s natural heritage. Cutler combines a keen aesthetic sense for the landscape’s beauty with a strong scientific framing of what makes Italy’s biodiversity so important. An essential and inspiring read.

Kyle Harper, author of The Fate of Rome and The Last Animal. 

Publisher information

Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing UK
ISBN: 9781915294760
Number of pages: 272
Dimensions: 152 x 229 mm
Language: English