Preliminary Programme

The low plain near Milan was very popular in preindustrial Europe, both for his fertility and for the extended irrigation system developed along centuries. During the early Modern period (and far along) many people included the visit to this fertile plain in the stages of their Grand Tour. In their memories, all these travellers dedicated some pages to describe the waterworks, focusing on the quality manufactures but also on the specific ‘social infrastructures’ at the base of this system. Less considered, at least up until the seventeenth century, was the ‘regional’ dimension that guaranteed the precarious equilibrium of the low plain.
This paper aims to focus specifically on this last aspect, in order to reconstruct when and in which specific conditions the debate on the relationship between the management of upper lands (and their resources) became important in the management of the low lands, specifically in the management of water. In other words, focusing both on the sources produced by local and central institutions and on the reports provided by different kind of technicians (i.e. travellers, engineers), the goal of this paper is to reconstruct the evolution of the knowledge and the practical solutions proposed to maintain in equilibrium this precarious world. (Show less)

Some researches have shown that economic geography does not adapt at all to ecological constrains and the commercial flows out of the mountain of the ancient regime have insisted in some historical moments not on the natural river basins, but on paths dictated by economic needs even at the cost of the preparation of substantial infrastructure equipment, with an increase in transport costs, but a reduction of certain distances in function of a more rapid outcome of the product and a better practicability of the transit points. In some historical periods a particularly aggressive exploitation involved high altitudes and prohibitive natural environments, where temporary and in some cases permanent transit routes were opened up to exploit forest resources intensively through roads and river routes centred on the major outlet markets.
These entrepreneurial strategies have given rise to the flourishing of small districts close to the Venetian-Imperial border, whose productive specialization was centred on the transformation of wood and whose products were destined to the Venetian Mainland. The supplies of raw materials were guaranteed by the communities of the Trentino and Tyrolean villages and by the government authorities, thanks also to the relative proximity and rapidity of delivery allowed by the exploitation of waterways. These centres were characterized by a mobility of individuals from the Austro-German area and from other Italian villages who continued to feed skills and technical updates of the wood supply chain. (Show less)

The borders between the highlands and the lowlands were crossed not only by means of transfer, but also by interweaving. Between the city of Chur (593 m) and the mountain village of Arosa (1739 m), which is about 25 kilometers away, a whole variety of such interweaving can be observed in the historical long-term perspective. These I analyze in my contribution in three periods. In the early modern period and well into the 19th century, the city of Chur was strongly agrarian. Many citizens practiced transhumance, which was largely based on the Alps acquired in Arosa since the 16th century. In addition, wood from the alpine forests on the River Plessur was flowed from Arosa to Chur. This resulted in classical resource conflicts with the mountain population, which saw their own supply endangered. By contrast, fewer conflicts of interest than convergences have been evident since the last third of the nineteenth century, when Arosa began to develop from a small mountain village into a growing tourist center. Chur participated in the development of the transport infrastructure – road Längwis-Arosa (1890), railway line Chur-Arosa (1914) – which promoted the tourist development and Chur lucrative land sales made possible. The city also benefited from Arosa's improved transport accessibility in the exploitation of its local forest property. With the same intention, Chur established his own sawmill in Arosa (1889). Towards the end of the 20th century, Chur supported the balance between agrarian and tourist interests. Not least because of the hikers, the city decided against suckler cow husbandry and continued dairy farming on its Arosa Alps by making a major investment in the dairy Maran (1991). And after controversal internal discussions, she provided part of her lands in Arosa for the tourism project "Bärenland" (since 2010). Important for this role as a mediator is the specific municipal dualism in Chur, where in addition to the community of inhabitants also a Civic Corporation ("Bürgergemeinde") exists, which - especially in the centuries-old property in Arosa - is included in the decision-making. (Show less)

Western Alps valley floor communities has been considered by history and geography as marginal spaces during modern centuries. Starting from XIX century, the canalization of valley floor rivers and the consequent stabilization and cultivation of low lands has been indicated as the real turning point in the economic and social growth of such areas. Although, the vast majority of these studies has not considered the profound complementarity in the exploitation of low lands and high lands during the modern period. Due to their particular position, a considerable number of these communities had access both to low lands and to high mountain pastures. These resources were often subject to a seasonal collective exploitation, involving a considerable number of social actor even from distant regions. Through the descriptions of territory perpetrated in 1738 by the Savoy State, we will take a closer look to some communities placed in a valley floor called Combe de Savoie. The paper will enlighten the deep complementary relationship between low pastures and high pastures in the social economy of valley floor communities before the great territorial reorganization of the XIX century. (Show less)