Water Ecomuseum

The Water Ecomuseum is a structure spread across the Bolognese plain, created to promote water, science, history, reclamation and ecology.

Specifically, the Sala Bolognese Water Ecomuseum aims to disseminate 360-degree knowledge of the technical, historical, cultural, social and environmental aspects of the world of water. Humans have been intervening in this area for centuries, governing the intemperance of its rivers, starting with the Reno, over an area that stretches from the mountains to the plains.

The Water Ecomuseum consists of an exhibition centre and a system of paths in the expansion tank and at the hydraulic structures located throughout the territory. Access to the trails is free on foot and by bicycle during daylight hours, in compliance with the indicated rules.

Particularly noteworthy is the Bagnetto hydroelectric plant, located near the junction of the Samoggia and Reno rivers. Built in 1925 and upgraded in the 1980s, the plant, together with the nearby naturalistic and ecological rebalancing area of the Cassa di Espansione del Canale Dosolo (Dosolo Canal Expansion Fund), is one of the main reclamation and hydraulic works carried out to make cultivation and settlements possible in these formerly marshy areas. This beautiful building, resembling a massive medieval fortress, encloses the instruments used to govern and control most of the surface water in the area, allowing the Acque Basse Collector Canal to flow into the Reno river.