Secondary Groundwater Resources Exploited by Traditional Knowledge Systems in a Semiarid Region of Southern Italy

Devices used to catch secondary groundwater resources are common in inland southern Italy, though little known to Italian technical literature. They are an interesting example of how the local non-technically-codified knowledge allows for exploiting the water resources. This paper presents the case study of the drainage tunnels (locally called cape d’acqua) of Casino Rago, near the town of Ferrandina, in Basilicata region. Despite its similarities to other underground collection systems that can be found in the region, the device presented here has some unique features within its structure and because it drains water in an area where the dominant outcropping geological formation is silty clay. This tunnel, together with other cape d’acqua and other underground water catchment systems, played a very important role in the development of many agricultural areas in Basilicata. Unfortunately, most of them are no longer in use for their original purpose, so they are slowly undergoing an abandonment process. Recognising the role that structures of this kind have had in the formation of the traditional landscape is the only way to ensure the continuation of a sustainable technique of water management and the transmission of the landscape values to the future.