Railway Flora

To mark the centenary of Ernesto Schick’s birth (1925–1991), 'Railway Flora' returns to bookshops. 'Railway Flora, or Nature’s Revenge on Man: Botanical Observations on the Area around the International Marshalling Yard of Chiasso, 1969–1978' is a unique botanical guide – part travel diary, part scientific manual – documenting the surprising resurgence of wild plants around Chiasso’s international railway station. The construction of an extensive rail complex in the 1950s and ’60s had all but wiped out local vegetation, yet nature found its way back. Originally published in 1980, the book became a cult favourite, inspiring poet Fabio Pusterla to write a piece in honour of Schick’s “pilot plants,” included in this edition.