WatHer in Borgoricco
On Tuesday, March 24, 2026, within the framework of the Festival del Libro di Borgoricco (A book festival), held in the municipality of Borgoricco, Italy, the Interreg Euro-MED project WatHer was presented to the local community.
The Municipality of Borgoricco is an Associated Partner of the PP University of Padua and hosts the Museo della Centuriazione Romana northeast of Padua, the only museum in Italy entirely dedicated to Roman centuriation. This makes Borgoricco particularly relevant for WatHer, as it highlights the cultural and historical value of this landscape system, which, within WatHer, is interpreted from a hydraulic perspective: the Roman centuriation represents an ancient land reclamation system, developed around 2,000 years ago, which still influences the water balance of the landscape today.
The presentation was delivered by Prof. Mauro Varotto and researcher Tanja Kremenić, and was introduced by the Mayor of Borgoricco, Gianluca Pedron, who expressed his support for the project and its objectives. The 45-minute presentation first provided a geo-historical overview of the centuriated landscape and its current condition and future perspectives. It then introduced the WatHer project and presented recent GIS-based research results. These cartographic studies show that, over the past two decades, the network of water ditches and associated hedgerows has been steadily declining, despite planning documents that recognise these elements as important landscape features to be preserved, due to their hydraulic, ecological, and cultural functions.
The discussion that followed showed strong engagement from the public, with participants asking questions, sharing observations, and offering suggestions. Overall, the event confirmed that this historical hydraulic system is not only a matter of heritage, but also a relevant and current landscape issue which should be addressed through joint efforts from the local administration, the public, the owners and scholars.
