The Inner Navigation in First Nine Hundred (Northern Italy): Editorial and Geographical Aspects

A brief excursion on the theme of inland navigation in the early twentieth century, resumed mainly by editorial references present both in the writ and in the appendices. The bibliographic indications, along with text, consent to frame the different facets of the matter. The titles reported, whose purpose is to corroborate (remark) what affirmed in the text, are grouped in consideration of content and type of publication.


Introduction
In the first part of the twentieth century, the technical and periodical press, as well as the book press, shows a lively interest in a segment, transport, in expansion in the period considered. A verification in this sense can be perceived through the analysis of journal_ indexes such as Journal of civil engineering department (1), The technical monitor (2), Civil engineering and industrial arts (3), to mention some of them. It is evident the attention with which contents of technical, geographical and economic nature are alternated returning an overall representation of the transformations taking place in mobility in its broadest (widest) sense.
The debate on inner navigation becomes consistent for the apparent gradual decrease, over time, of commercial traffic through the inland waterways and in general due to the low utilization of the hydrographic network formed by rivers and canals The main reasons leading to what can be defined as underutilization of river itineraries are to search in the development of transport systems between nineteenth and twentieth century such as rail and road transport (motoring). And in the options related to the opportunity not to direct (allocate) resources for a sector not competitive in economic terms when compared to alternative mobility systems ("…..in the eighties of last century the fluvial navigation was already losing in comparison with the railways").(4)

Editorial Analysis
Throughout the first part of twentieth century and until the sixties (though with less relevance approaching the middle of the century) the question on the advisability to restore (revitalize) the waterway network is remarked through the reproposition of various projects (appendix A) finalized to the redefinition of river itineraries evidently still (anyway) useful under the economic aspect.
Subsisted in fact the idea that, as had happened in northern Europe, also in Italy the river transport would have rendered extensive services to the development of agriculture and industry thanks to a reduction in transport costs of raw materials (5) In the period considered here the editorial production on the argument is discreet, articles (appendix B) and monographs (appendix C) examine the relative problems and suggest solutions to bring to front also issues related to the territory and the infrastructures connected to navigable routes and potentially such.
The integrated analysis of navigation and relative hydrographic network through books and historical cartography presents different cultural solicitations First of all the comprehension of a system in transformation across technological innovation (6) and commercial policies affirming in the twentieth century. Not less attractive the geographic image strictly correlated to waterways itineraries, certainly a motive of interest to environmental and natural aspects.
The text Lakes, rivers and navigable canals , published in the early years of the twentieth century, photographs the situation of inland navigation in the peninsula. The context represented is very realistic and offers an overview (accompanied by tables containing technical and commercial data) on the navigable network describing characteristics and potentiality As reported in the introduction (7) the book is published during a period of renewed interest on the matter by the institutions (appendix D). In effect the editorial initiative is promoted by the Ministry of public works with the collaboration of two engineers of the Civil engineering department. It is evident the attempt to recover a system destabilized by the lack of programming relative to investments and infrastructures that allows to glimpse the contrast existing between different realities (8).
Through the press of the epoch, the comparison with Europe denotes a lower capacity to use the waterway network also -in addition to the reasons already exposed -because of the inadequacy of rivers and canals in supporting boats with relevant loads.

Geographical Aspects
A careful examination of the graphic and cartographic material published in the early twentieth century, often enclosed to periodicals and monographs, allows the overall identification of the navigation system composed of Lakes, rivers and canals crossing the northern regions. Visible element in large-scale representations is the definition of a waterway network gradually denser in the final part of its route (Veneto-Emilia Romagna), continuation of the Lombardy part characterized by a different hydrographic and territorial organization. The graphic representation of the navigable ways of northern Italy depicted in figure 1 (published in 1905) describes the situation of practicable itineraries at the beginning of the century, classifying them in three classes defined by the degree of navigability of the watercourse (river-canal). A first consideration deriving from the analysis of the document regards the incidence degree of navigable watercourses, not very significant in relation to the general hydrographic network A second visible element is the density of navigable network detectable in the different regions, more attenuated between Piedmont and Lombardy, more articulated after Mantova up to the adriatic sea and therefore interesting _Veneto and Emilia.
Effectively, the different natural and artificial waterways formed by rivers and canals describe a framework geographically complex (at least in northern Italy), therefore considered, in the first half of the twentieth century, a valid navigation system between cities and regions. The manifold projects presented over time as connection hypothesis between river routes characterized by low or good transit potentiality, have found space in the technical press without however, in most cases, be realized. The emerging image reveals a discrete sensitivity towards some geographic segments evidently perceived as pivotal itineraries. One of these is formed -from west to east in the triangle Sesto calende/Lecco/Pavia -almost completely by natural and artificial canals integrated by short sections (stretches) of the rivers Ticino and Adda. The Po river becomes the main axis (9) intended as primary connection within the itineraries integrated by its tributaries along the route to the adriatic sea. Therefore considered essential (the Po river) in a global project of revitalization of the inland waterway network.

Final Considerations
The short review presented here highlights some aspects -relative to the exploitation of the hydrographic network used for navigation -resumed by publishing in the first half of the twentieth century, following the debate that took place in those years. The analysis, in its partial and limited structure, proposes a concrete theme regarding a sector, transports, invested by a significant evolution in the period considered.