Reclamation of Lago di Vinzaglio
second half of 16th century
WHAT IS A FOUNTAIN?
By fountain we mean a reserve of water coming from the Alps, from the karst path, destined to re-emerge in the lower plain after encountering impermeable clays.
Just to the south of Vercelli, there is an area, called the fountain line, which distinguishes the areas of the plain. (in the drawing: S beginning of the Salerino cable, E Cerpenchio swamp which prepares the Solavella, K Panna de Liscata, C and D Buzio, I and F Gualdenasca.)
WHAT IS AN EMPTY?
The term embankment derives from the late Latin arger, in turn borrowed from the classical Latin agger, which indicated the embankment material, the earth for the embankments, and which then went on to indicate the shelter that allows the water to be maintained in its bed .
The embankment is, therefore, a very important element in any watercourse, therefore also in a canal and generally consists of an embankment which has the function of containing floods and avoiding flooding in the surrounding area.
Its structure was initially made up of a ‘piling’, made of wood, later it was often replaced by a stone structure, less subject to corrosion, so that stone, gravel or sand did not invade the canal bed, hindering the flow. water flow.
WHAT IS A SEAKAGE DITCH
On the right bank of the Roggia Busca, in the Gallarati territory, you can observe a Fosso delle Colature de Risi in Valle. It is a ditch, a term that can be used equivalently to an irrigation ditch, which collects the slow flow of rainwater or irrigation water from the countryside and the water itself that flows out.
WHAT IS A FORD?
By ford, still in modern language, we mean the passage of a watercourse without resorting to bridges or other structures.
WHAT IS A ROGAGE?
The term canal, derived from the medieval Latin word rugia, is used mainly in historical Lombardy to indicate a ditch, i.e. an artefact with which water is conveyed into the countryside; its function is, in fact, closely linked to the needs of irrigation and operation of the mills. You can also find the archaic form of roza, or rough and the accretives rozone or rozzone, another equivalent but less widespread term is hollow.
This is a work that requires technical competence and professionalism: the slope of the land had to be taken into account, which would have determined the speed of flow of the water, the type of soil, its permeability and friability, elements at the basis of the solidity of the new artifact. Where possible, the use of already existing cables was resorted to, as in the case of the Bolgora canal, for which they were exploited, around the century. XII, paleochannels of the Sesia, left following the movement of the river from E to W.
Often the canals, after having fulfilled their dedicated function, were returned to the river of origin, other times they could originate from an already existing canal, or flow into it.
Furthermore, the excavation of a canal required a strong economic commitment, which is why it was planned only in view of a significant advantage in the exploitation of the territory. It was usually the large landowners who took on initiatives of this kind and often not alone: it was not uncommon, in fact, for consortium groups of landowners to be created for the management of a canal, or a group of canals.
WHAT IS A TOMB OR A TOMB?
The term tomba, or tombone, which is its augmentative, indicates the artefact created at the intersection of natural or artificial waterways, or with linear infrastructures, such as roads, when it is not possible to build a bridge.
It is, therefore, a watercourse which, from being open and visible, enters a covered and invisible stretch, similar to a tomb, from which it re-emerges downstream of the obstacle.
In more than one drawing among those on display, tombs or tomboni are clearly visible which allow the passage of some smaller canals under larger canals, as in the case of the Busca canal in the map which reconstructs its course.