On Tuesday 22nd March 2022 (World Water Day) started the countdown to the launch of “Acque comuni” (Common Waters), the innovative digital tour of the municipalities of Santorso and Marano Vicentino that will make you discover – starting from April – the great natural and cultural heritage related to water connected with the interventions of hydraulic risk mitigation carried out within the European project Life Beware. Thanks to the special geo-referenced audio guide, which makes use of the open-source platform izi.Travel, it will be possible to follow the itinerary easily, just by using your smartphone or tablet.

We will discover suggestive water heritages, historically settled along the hydrographies of the territory between the municipalities of Santorso and Marano Vicentino. Since the Middle Ages, in fact, the control and management of surface water by means of artificial watercourses and irrigation ditches has made possible the development of numerous artisan and proto-industrial activities, favouring the birth of various hydraulic factories: mills, follies and hammers. Cycling or walking through rural areas that still preserve architecture from vanished worlds, the itinerary is rounded off with a visit to some of the pioneering work carried out as part of the European LIFE BEWARE project. These are forward-looking projects designed to reduce the risks of flooding and to build a widespread strategy of adaptation to climate change. The project is now drawing to a close: since 2018, many initiatives have been carried out in addition to the hydraulic resilience works, raising awareness among citizens, professionals and institutions for good water resource management. The digital tour fits into this context, as a further effort so that the work carried out is valued and understood by the territory even after the project has ended.

“We are confident this initiative will allow our citizens and visitors new ways to discover that red thread that links our territories, their rich history and culture, together with the need to safeguard them with responsibility and innovation, something that the Life Beware project has made concretely possible” says the Mayor of the Municipality of Santorso, leading partner of the Life Beware project.

The tour – curated by the Centro Internazionale Civiltà dell’Acqua Onlus and designed in collaboration with local partners – will therefore make it possible to enhance the interventions related to the hydraulic risk carried out in the framework of the LIFE BEWARE Project, and already the subject of a specific study in the context of the Master in “Governance of local development networks” at the University of Padua, combining them with a visit to some of the most significant elements of the cultural heritage of the water civilisation. And not only. The 23 points of interest will be accompanied by vocal descriptions and written texts, photos and video interviews (including those with the two mayors Franco Balzi, of Santorso, and Marco Guzzonato, of Marano Vicentino), which will collect the anecdotes and curiosities linked to rivers and irrigation ditches, mills, fountains and hydraulic works to illustrate and represent, both for tourism and for dissemination purposes, the historical and natural context of the entire local water heritage.

The itinerary therefore includes both surface flow management techniques developed in past eras and modern technologies, providing an overview of the history of water and new possible options for the care and protection of local landscapes and hydrographies. The itinerary, therefore entitled “Acque comuni” (Common Waters), aims to spread new awareness and perceptions of the value of water through a governance model that can be applied throughout the Veneto region and beyond.

The platform used, izi.Travel, allows the end-user, once they have framed the QR code with their smartphone or tablet, to activate geo-localisation with GPS to start the guided tour. Izi.Travel has more than 1 million downloads and includes thousands of itineraries for over 900 cities and territories across Europe. This platform allows you to enter points of interest and preview the planned routes on the map for each excursion, including text references, videos, photo galleries and multimedia files. With the Offline Maps mode, it is also possible to avoid consuming roaming internet traffic. The platform has the additional advantage of functioning as a promotional tool for the route created, capable of reaching new audiences.

The International Centre for the Civilisation of Water – Centro Internazionale Civiltà dell’Acqua Onlus – created in 1996 to spread a “new culture of water”, environment and landscape – has developed more than 100 digital itineraries and audio guides including more than 300 “points of interest” related to natural and cultural water heritage, including the Water Museum of Venice (www.watermuseumofvenice.com), the “digital and diffuse museum” platform that is part of the UNESCO Global Network of Water Museums (www.watermuseums.net), achieving important goals and awards both locally and internationally.