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Historical archive

2,105 archival units documenting the history of the management of Bologna’s water

Together with the offices and the education-documentary centre called Opificio delle Acque, the headquarters of the three consortia of the Reno and Savena Canals also hosts the historical archive of the documentation produced by the three bodies during their history, and of the different organisational forms that have been given to provide for the management of Bologna's water.

The archive consists of eight archival collections: the Assunteria della Chiusa di Casalecchio, the Assunteria del canale di Reno, in 1851 combined in the Consorzio della Chiusa di Casalecchio e del canale di Reno, still operational today, the Consorzio della Chiusa di S. Ruffillo e del canale di Savena which holds the materials from the ancient Assunteria, the Consorzio degli interessati nelle acque del canale di Savena in Bologna, autonomous and operational since 1887, the ancient Assunteria del torrente Ravone, which was closed in the early years of the 20th century and from which every trace of documentation had apparently been lost, but which had its own precise, autonomous organisation, and the two consortia for category III hydraulic works, shut down in 1993, whose responsibilities have been handed over to the region (Consorzio di III categoria per la sistemazione del fiume Reno alla chiusa di Casalecchio and Consorzio di III categoria per la sistemazione del fiume Reno dalla chiusa di Casalecchio al ponte della via Emilia).

In addition to these, there is a considerable collection of maps produced over the centuries useful for the activities of the ancient Assunterias and of today's consortia called the Map Archive, in which maps made in the 18th to 20th centuries are collected.

As a whole, the material consists of 2,105 archival units and was carefully reorganised in 2019.

It is possible to view the documents in the archive for study and research purposes by appointment.
For information and/or to set an appointment write to prenotazioni@canalidibologna.it or call +39 051.6493527.