Multidisciplinary approach to analyse historical water infrastructure and urban transformations: the case study of the Grabiglione Barisano in the Sassi of Matera, Italy

The historical urban fabrics are the evidence of traditional knowledge and practices generated by urbanization processes that take advantage of the morphological characteristics of the territory. In the past, Matera represented an emblematic example of “smart city”, in which the urban transformations impacted on the natural environment ensuring the ecosystem balance through the creation of a complex water infrastructures network. The most recent urban expansions occurred into the historical districts of the Sassi of Matera and their surrounding areas have led to the alteration of the “urban metabolism”, causing dangerous consequences as uncontrolled surface runoff of rainwater and flooding. For these reasons, this study proposes innovative methodological approaches which can guide the development of sustainable solutions capable of preserving the built landscapes. This study analyses the transformations produced on the historical water infrastructure of the Grabiglione Barisano over time e the effects of these changes on the Sasso Barisano urban context, developing the process within the environmental unit of the “watershed” through an hydromorphic approach. The analysis of urban transformations within the watersheds allows us to understand the interrelations between urban fabric and hydromorphic characteristics of the territorial context, overcoming the usual sectoral scientific approaches that analyse separately the different fields of urban planning, architecture and hydrology. This approach highlights how the construction activity conducted outside the perimeter of the Sasso Barisano watershed, apparently totally independent, has instead influenced the way in which rainwater acts into this historical urban fabric. This contribution proposes an integrated workflow that lays the foundations necessary for further research on the recovery and enhancement of this heritage, but which is reproducible for other case studies.