The water system of Pinerolo: reading an industrial landscape through unpublished documents

The town of Pinerolo, ideally located close to the Alps and on the outskirts of Turin, in the millennium of its history underwent expansions and contractions, transformations, but above all demolitions, which have substantially modified its appearance. Like many urban medieval centers, the water has strongly oriented the development of the settlement: this element has been the sign that mainly characterizes its landscape, both suburban, and urban. A peculiar component of the water system is the Rio Moirano, a renowned canal since the first two decades of the Thirteenth Century. Rio Moirano was the driving force to a series of activities that made the city a popular industrial center. These architectural and water systems have lost much of their peculiarities. Today, this heritage requires prompt protective actions, since the speculation is slowly but surely destroying or hiding it, element by element. To preserve this system it is important to rethink this canal and all the components of the water system of the town, made by the Chisone and Lemina rivers and other flumes (like Beale della Motta Grossa and Bealera di Bisognette), as an engine for conservation. The aim of the paper is to highlight the important changes of this landscape between mid-nineteenth and early twentieth century, through the reading of several unpublished documents concerning the reorganization of the waters, kept in the Historical archive of the city. From this starting point, the study wants to propose an enhancing strategy that focuses on preservation actions for this industrial system, made by factories and water supplies. In order to make this happen it is necessary, in addition to an organic project, to include adequate information campaigns and popular involvement, to ensure that this heritage can be recognized, appreciated, and consequently safeguarded.