La riscoperta dei canali storici come patrimonio per il riequilibrio ambientale e il turismo culturale: tre casi europei a confronto.

Historic canals, originally conceived for inland water transport, underwent a process of functional decline beginning in the 19th century. More recently, they have become the subject of rediscovery and heritage valorization processes for recreational and tourism purposes. This research analyzes the historical, functional, and symbolic transformations of three European artificial waterways — the Battaglia Canal (Italy), the Oxford Canal (United Kingdom), and the Canal de Castilla (Spain) — with a particular focus on the recovery and heritagization processes that have affected them in the contemporary era. Through a comparative approach, the study explores how infrastructures with similar origins and historical trajectories have produced different socio-ecological outcomes and management models, reflecting the cultural and territorial specificities of each context. The thesis frames these historic waterways as complex “hybrid socio-natures” systems in which environmental dynamics and social practices are inextricably intertwined. The methodology combines archival analysis with fieldwork research, which included direct observation and semi-structured interviews with local stakeholders. The findings highlight three distinct trajectories. The Oxford Canal represents a successful “bottom-up” recovery, which created a new hydrosocial bond and transformed the canal from an obsolete industrial infrastructure into a multifunctional blue corridor. The Canal de Castilla, conversely, experienced a “top-down” heritagization process promoted by institutions, which has struggled to translate into a full social reappropriation by local communities. Finally, the Battaglia Canal illustrates a fragmented and conflicted reinterpretation, where grassroots efforts to preserve the water heritage clash with a dominant technical-engineering management which limit the social use of canals. In conclusion, the comparative analysis demonstrates that effective revitalization of waterways requires an approach that synergizes institutional action with grassroots mobilization, overcoming the limits of isolated top-down or bottom-up approaches. The study emphasizes the crucial role of landscape materiality and embodied experiences, particularly through direct uses, in fostering lasting hydrosocial bonds. Ultimately, the research advocates for a paradigm shift towards hybrid governance models and the strategic reconfiguration of these historic waterways as multifunctional “cultural blue-green corridors” essential for climate resilience and sustainable territorial development.