For latest lab news, project status and events, and multispecies musings, please add and follow us on Instagram:
Ecocultures of the Scala dei Turchi - Multispecies Thick-Map, Sicily, Italy
AGRIGENTO was selected as the Italian Capital of Culture for 2025. This community-engaged project is one of the official initiatives of the Agrigento 2025 program. The completed Scala dei Turchi digital multispecies thick-map was born thanks to a serendipitous and fruitful collaboration with Dr. Teresa Fiore (Inserra Chair in Italian Studies at Montclair State University, New Jersey), it came into being not long after the first prototype of such a map was created within the lab.
​
​
This project illustrates the utility of the new method of "multispecies thick mapping" developed by the lab that makes visible multispecies ecocultural links in places of ecocultural importance. Multispecies Thick Mapping draws from thick mapping techniques pioneered by digital humanities scholars such as Todd Presner. It is one of the primary new approaches developed by Vetri Nathan via this lab and will be explained in more detail in his forthcoming book.
Each "layer" of the multispecies thick map focuses on one aspect or story of the site that will guide viewers to the naturalcultural, transhistorical and multispecies entanglements that sustain the complexity and diversity of the physical, cultural and ecological aspects of the Turkish Steps.
​
The project brings together studies, research, activities, and knowledge already carried out and present in the area, but never previously connected. In this sense, it draws on contributions from professors at the University of Palermo (Profs Valeria Scavone, Agostino Tomasello, Antonio Caruso), recent graduates of UNIPA (Fabiana Fiorica), historical and nature guides Marcello Mira and Antonino Dinolfo, photographer Nuccio Zicari and chefs Pino Cuttaia and Biagio di Caro.
Since its unveiling in December 2025, the project has generated significant impact in local and Sicilian-wide communities, thanks also to Dr. Fiore's extensive outreach and continued engagement.
News articles (In Italian):
La Sicilia (Interview with Dr. Fiore)
Scrivo Libero News
​
RADIO IN - Interview about the Project with Dr. Fiore (In Italian)
