La Civiltà delle Acque, tra Medioevo e Rinascimento: Atti del Convegno internazionale, Mantova, 1–4 Ottobre 2008 (review)

Almost all of the thirty-six papers read at this ‘pluridisciplinary’ conference on a fascinating array of topics relating (mainly) to the rivers and waters of Italy’s Val Padana appear in these proceedings. Daniela Lamberini introduces the contributions, while Salvatore Ciriacono’s concluding remarks sketch the opportunities for further research opened by the presenters and the discussions. The collection offers a dazzling variety of topics produced by leading scholars from Italy, Europe, Israel, Japan, USA, and, last but not least, Australia.

The proceedings are arranged under five broad headings. Part I, ‘Letteratura, e immaginarioi’, has contributions on relevant texts and ideas found in Virgil (Georgics, Aeneid, and Eclogues) and Dante (Commedia), as well as Leonardo’s theories on the flow of water and its place in his vision of the structure of the cosmos, and Pirro Ligorio’s unpublished treatise (after 1565) on the properties of running waters (in rivers, springs, lakes, and so on).

Part II, ‘Gestione politica ed economia’ examines legal, administrative, and political issues during medieval and early modern times as well as the economic importance of water to agriculture and transport and the like, principally in Mantua, Cremona, and Tuscany.

Part III, ‘Arte, architettura, paesaggio e territorio’ brings together studies of the impact of the rivers on the various communities of the Po Valley over the centuries, artists who depicted the waters of Tuscany, and Leonardo’s post-1482 texts on the behaviour of flowing water in Lombardy. Also included are an analysis of the building of the fountain of Neptune in Bologna (commenced in 1563) and the instructions for its maintenance, the efforts of the Medici dukes of Tuscany to control the Arno, and an account of the way in which water from the aqueducts of Rome was administered, bought, sold, and traded from the 1560s onwards.

Part IV, ‘Ingegneria, infrastrutture, scienza e technica’, concentrates on theoretical and practical aspects of hydraulics and its associated technology, while Part V, ‘Giardini, feste e spettacoli’ describes the use of the Arno as a vehicle for spectacle from 1305 onwards.

Besides their interest as a collection of scholarly articles directed at a common theme, these volumes provide material not easily otherwise available that is relevant to research in other fields. In my case, research on the development of the Borgo Pio and its fortifications in Rome under Pius IV (1559–65) led me into issues relating to Rome’s floods, drainage, drinking water, and the politics of the city’s water supply. Katherine Rinne’s article in these proceedings (followed by her book The Waters of Rome recently published by Yale) helped resolve a number of important questions. There are other unexpected insights: Giuseppe Adami’s paper, for example, throws fascinating light on the cultural interests of P. P. Floriani who is better known as a military engineer. I am sure many other scholars will make similar ‘finds’!