Per una “Via dei Mulini” sul Tevere a Perugia

For a “Way of the Mills” on the Tiber in Perugia. – This paper points out the recent interest of many disciplines, including Geography, about water mills, which since the Middle Ages represented a turning point in the various forms of exploitation of natural energies. In motivating the geographical interest is also the fact that this production system, at least until the mid-twentieth century, was one of the most important evidences of several hard-working generations as well a first-rate component of historical and cultural heritage in Western Europe, giving rise to an authentic economic and social-cultural microcosm able to generate specific forms of landscapes. More than in the past, even public and private institutions are attentive to the need to restore the still existing structures mainly for museum, educational and economic purposes. With regard to this, we propose a route aimed at the discovery of water mills along the Tiber near Perugia, briefly explained in their historical evolution, characteristics and potentiality for tourism and educational aims.