The Multidisciplinary Approach in the Study of Landscape Evolution: The Fluvial Capture of the San Donato Creek (Gubbio, Central Italy), an Example of Hydrological Regime and Hydrogeological Risk Changes

Historical maps, especially those at a small scale and rich in detail (e.g., the old “Cadastres”), represent an exceptionally important tool for understanding the recent historical evolution of landscapes. The note describes the example of the territory of Gubbio, in Umbria (Central Italy), where a map from the end of the 16th century shows a drawing of the hydrographic network partially different from the current one. A multidisciplinary study based on field surveys, observations of satellite images, archaeological discoveries, and archival research proved useful to confirm what was reported by the cartographer at the time. The possible causes that led to this variation of the surface hydrography up to its current configuration are then discussed in the light of other documentary finds from the archives, taken from the chronicles of the time, which have made it possible to identify, with sufficient approximation, the period where this change occurred. All this leads to a highlighting of a profound evolution of fluvial and slope morphogenetic processes that have affected the study area in recent centuries, in which the regulation of surface waters and afforestation, conducted during the 20th century, have played a decisive role.