SMALL LAKES AND RESERVOIRS IN THE HILLS OF SICILY. MAINTAIN, SAVE AND RECOVER RURAL LANDSCAPE

Abstract

In the transition from nomadic to sedentary, people have tried - for their settlements - the most plenty of water, and the first cities were founded, in fact, along Tigris and Euphrates rivers, extraordinary water resources in a particular dry climate.In the most interior of Sicily, which has always been characterized by low rainfall, the farmers - over time - have tried various expedients for the preservation of rain water in order to allow its survival and crop.The use of new technologies and materials has resulted in recently hard impacts for landscape, while construction of small dams filled with earth, using natural soil impluviums and the nature of the land, made it possible to irrigate thousands of hectares of agricultural land otherwise ready for drought. A “sustainable” technique, which resulted in the last sixty years, a significant change in the rural landscape of Sicily. In a time when the whole country seems to be threatened - to build indiscriminately - by excessive consumption of soil, which will inevitably and irreversibly alter the environmental balance, the rediscovery of the landscape value of crops that characterize - today - the sicilian countryside and techniques of sustainable conservation of rainwater, it seems of great relevance for the study and protection of soil and for the recovery of the identity of this territory.This abstract introduce to a multidisciplinary investigation yet started, which will aim to assess both technical and landscaping aspects, both economic and agronomic, and also ecological profiles of this technique to protect the biodiversity in these specialized fields. The investigation will aim also to give an historical perspective and an ex-post evaluation of interventions in order to lead to urban planning, landscape and spatial awareness. A further aim is the design of a network system which has impacts on the quality of rural tourism, which emphasizes, as an example, the interaction with the system of bicycle routes and footpaths, greenways, that is being developed in Sicily.