Water mills as territorial infrastructures in Umbria (Central Italy): towards an analytical framework for multifunctional regeneration

Abstract The invention of water mills marked a crucial turning point in the history of human use of natural energy. Water mills were widely disseminated across the Mediterranean from the Middle Ages onwards and soon became—and for centuries remained—a fundamental component of material cultural heritage, as well as proto-industrial centres that played a key role in shaping landscapes, local economies, and social relations. Long regarded as a disappearing heritage, surviving water mills now require, where possible, restoration and refunctionalisation aimed not only at historical–architectural or technical recovery but also at enabling new roles as territorial infrastructures. In this context, the present study investigates the potential of water mills in Umbria (Central Italy) as multifunctional territorial nodes capable of integrating multiple functions—cultural, landscape-related, economic, social, productive, tourism-related, and educational functions—with contemporary territorial planning and heritage management strategies. Through the analysis of selected case studies, this research identifies paradigmatic models for structural and functional renewal, contributing to the reinterpretation of hydraulic heritage within a territorial and infrastructural framework.