Interior Aquapelagos: A proposal for comprehending and conceptualising nature, society and culture in interior waterscapes and a consideration of Udine and the broader Friuli-Venezia Giulia region as a test case

The authors of this article were involved in the conceptualisation and organisation of the first international conference on Inland Waterscapes, subtitled ‘Nature, Society and Culture in Hydrography,’ held at the University of Udine between 22nd-25th May 2024. The following essay draws on an extended dialogue between us prior to, during and after the conference about how to comprehend and characterise the relationship between water, landscape and human society in interior locations. In the following sections we consider the waterscapes of Udine and the broader Friuli-Venezia Giulia region (and discourses about these) in the light of aquapelago theory (formulated within Island Studies to refer to terrestrial and marine environments closely integrated by human livelihood activities). Informed by our focus on the specific locale, we propose and evaluate the usefulness of the concept of interior aquapelagality to comprehend the assemblage of liquid and material elements in the region and their changing social function and character over an extended duration. Our conclusion suggests the potential usefulness of the concept and invites other researchers to evaluate its application to other contexts.