Waters and Land Reclamations in the Po Plain (Italy). An Outline (15th-20th Centuries)

The italian territory is largely characterized by mountains with erosive and landslides trends, while the plains were affected by malaria disease until the 20th century. Land reclamation was necessary work for all plains. This paper has been developed regardind two main themes conneccted to water management in the Po plain. The first one focuses its attention on the western part of the Po plain (Piedmont, Lombardy), where the efforts were dedicated to exploit waters potential for irrigation and breeding. The second theme concerns the lowlands of the eastern Po plain (Emilia-Romagna and Veneto) : here , programs and practices were linked to regulate the Po River course and its tributaries, and to drain deltaic wetlands, with the aim to create new lands for agriculture.