Purpose: Faced with the growing need to find new viable water supply models for urban areas, this article studies and maps the strategies and identifies the key criteria of sustainable development present in pioneering water supply systems in the medieval period. The main aim is to determine which of its innovative principles could be applied in present-day cities. Design/methodology/approach: From a methodological perspective, two types of cases were established, such as water supply models for human consumption and pre-industrial hydraulic systems, all of which are located in Italy. For the first group, the cases of Venice and Siena were analysed, while for the second, in the context of the cities along the Aemilian Way, the case of Bologna was selected. Findings: Five key criteria resulted from the analysis of the cases: exploitation, self-sufficiency, maintenance, rationalisation and reuse. The said concepts were defined and contextualised within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals. Originality/value: The Middle Ages were a historic moment in technological reinvention, before the development of modern systems of sanitation. With very limited resources, these traditional systems focused on rational use and deep cultural and geographical knowledge. This is why its recognition is of great importance today, in a time full of instabilities, with a view to the work that needs to be done for the development of more sustainable communities.

This research work arises from the need to design specific techniques for the characterisation of cultural sites. Assuming the increasing complexity of the protection typologies, the expansion of working scales gives thanks to technology and the pursuit of social sustainability objectives. Thus, its main objective is to search for innovative tools that other disciplines can contribute to the work of architects specialising in heritage studies. To this end, the research explores the main methodologies, maps, guides, and registers of landscape and historic landscape characterisation developed in Europe, particularly in Spain, over the last 40 years. Considering this intense and profound evolution of landscape analysis, useful strategies for the assessment of cultural sites from their conception in the 21st century arise. Nevertheless, landscape characterisation methods have been mainly developed and applied by geographers and are absent in many urban and territorial heritage studies. In response, this article proposes a new methodological approach focusing on contextual values to be used in the assessment of architectural heritage at the territorial scale.

Information about the paper titled "VIRTUAL LEARNING TOOLS IN HIGHER EDUCATION. EDIEDPAT, AN INTERACTIVE PLATFORM FOR URBAN HERITAGE TEACHING" at IATED Digital Library

Pese a asentarse sobre un estrato hídrico que abastece de forma natural a sus habitantes y cultivos, Milán ha dedicado incansables esfuerzos a establecer una red de infraestructuras hidráulicas como conexión con otras ciudades. Un trabajo continuo de planificación ingenieril le permitió construir, a lo largo de su historia, un extenso sistema de canales navegables que salvase la distancia que la aleja de los ríos más próximos. Un gran empeño técnico por el que fue denominada por muchos la Città dell’acqua. Paradójicamente, la idea de prescindir de estas aguas antropogénicas surgió a raíz de uno de sus primeros planes urbanísticos, a finales del siglo XIX. Este artículo caracteriza la ciudad a través de un recorrido cronológico, centrándose en la hidrografía de la región y en sus principales obras hidráulicas medievales y modernas, los llamados navigli. A continuación, se exponen las circunstancias y argumentos urbanos que, tras la industrialización, llevaron a políticos, urbanistas e ingenieros a soterrar estas infraestructuras; coincidiendo con el desarrollo de las tecnologías sanitarias modernas y el auge del tráfico rodado frente a la navegabilidad. Por último, la aportación analiza la actual propuesta del gobierno municipal para recuperar las antiguas canalizaciones. Para ello, se revisan y discuten los objetivos del proyecto a escala urbana y metropolitana, junto al resto de problemáticas presentes en esta gran urbe del Norte de Italia.

The aim of this research is to show the impact of heritage protection on the recognition, valorisation and activation of the landscape. To this end, the evolution of the protection of water ‑related assets in Andalusia was used as a case study. This is an area where the recognition and protection of the landscape is limited to the environmental sphere, but which, paradoxically, bases its economy on a tourism strategy centred on its cultural, heritage and landscape wealth. Therefore, the first step is to establish a chronology between the categories of these assets included in the General Catalogue of the Historical Heritage of Andalusia over the last hundred years, and the different strategies, plans and laws for landscape protection. Then, it is studied how the new heritage figures tend to build an important landscape support that requires greater attention from a strategic, urban and territorial point of view.