Water technologies and rural landscapes in the Apulia region: Multi-sectoral and multi-functional approaches to analysis and planning

Rural landscapes in the Apulia region have been strongly infl uenced by changes in water technologies and practices occurred in the XX century, which led to the construction of the largest aqueduct in Europe and to a complex system of tamed waterscapes across the region. Modernization was conceived of as a means to free local communities from water scarcity and poverty. Nevertheless, scarcity never ended in the region, as it is entangled with a development approach based on the linearization of ecological processes, whose negative impacts on ecological and socio-economic aspects are more and more evident. Starting from a critique of this development approach, the paper discusses the innovation potentials rooted in multi-sectoral and multi-functional approaches to water and rural development analysis and planning. For this purpose, reference is made to the new territorial-landscape plan of the Apulia region, which has developed strategic projects fostering integrated approaches to natural resources and landscape analysis and planning. Pilot experiments carried out in the Apulia region for the revival of traditional technologies for water supply and for the implementation of a circular approach to resources management are also described, which suggest interesting innovation pathways to increase resilience and multi-functionality of water technologies and rural development.