The creation of a protean water infrastructure: The canale emiliano romagnolo (19th-21st cent.)

The building of the Canale Emiliano-Romagnolo (CER), the longest artificial waterway existing in Italy, has contributed strongly to the economic development of a large area of the country. Through the analyses of a rich and unpublished archival documentation, the research shows the key aspects of the evolution of this water infrastructure from the 19th-century projects to its realization in the second half of the 20th century. The adaptability of the waterway to different functions (irrigation, industrial, civil), the role of political actors in the process of negotiating the characteristics of the canal and financing the work, the relationship between central authority, peripherical institutions and local stakeholders supporting the building of CER over time, the management of potential conflict between land reclamation needs, irrigation purposes and landscape heritage protection goals, are all issues addressed by the article