Piero Bevilacqua is professor of modern history at the University of Bari. His publications include Le campagne del Mezzogiorno tra fascismo e dopoguerra (The Southern Countryside Under Fascism and Post-War), and together with A. Placanica he edited the volume on Calabria in the series, Storia delle regioni Einaudi (History of the Regions). He also edited Storia dell'agricoltura italiana (A History of Italian Agriculture). In 1986 he founded the review, Meridiana, which he directs. His Breve storia dell'Italia meridionale (Brief History of Southern Italy) is published by Donzelli, as well as the Italian edition of Venice and the Water. Venice is also available in French and German. Other works include Tra natura e storia (Nature and History), L'utilità della storia: Il passato e gli altri mondi possibili (Using History: The Past and the Other Possible Worlds), La Terra è finita: Breve storia dell'ambiente (The Earth is Finite/Finished: A Brief History of the Environment) and Miseria dello sviluppo (The Poverty of Development). Piero Bevilacqua resides in Southern Italy.