Interrupted Rivers: Rethinking Infrastructure, Water, and Life in Sicily’s Simeto Valley
4 June 2025 – Ex Macello, Paternò, Sicily
As part of the Facciamo la Valle! community festival, the BIOTraCes Italian case study co-organised a thought-provoking conference titled “Interrupted Rivers: Infrastructure, Water Control, and the Continuity of Life”. Held at the Ex Macello in Paternò, the event brought together researchers, practitioners, and activists to examine how infrastructure and governance are reshaping the ecological and cultural life of rivers, especially the Simeto, Sicily’s longest waterway.
The conference was introduced by Erika Garozzo, a researcher within the BIOTraCes project, and took place through a collaboration between BIOTraCes (Horizon Europe), coordinated by Professor Mara Benadusi (University of Catania), and the Presidio Partecipativo of the Simeto River Agreement, through the “Che Macello!” project supported by the Italian Ministry of Culture’s Laboratorio Creatività Contemporanea programme.
The event opened with a keynote by Francesco Visentin, Associate Professor at the University of Udine, who invited participants to adopt a hydrocentric perspective, reframing rivers not as passive infrastructures but as dynamic living systems. His talk explored how “waterscapes” are shaped by layers of human intervention and called for a renewed recognition of rivers as ecological and cultural entities.
This was followed by Giuliano Trentini, spokesperson for the Italian Centre for River Restoration (CIRF), who addressed the biodiversity crisis and the urgency of river restoration. He argued that restoring rivers requires more than engineering, it demands a cultural shift towards embracing the natural rhythms of water systems.
Paolo Gruppuso, researcher at the Rachel Carson Center (LMU Munich), offered a critical historical account of the Simeto’s regulation and embankment. Drawing on the concept of river literacy, he advocated for reconnecting with lost practices such as fishing and herding that once defined the valley’s relationship with its river.
The debate continued with Dr. Umberto Troja, director of the Simeto River Nature Reserve, who highlighted current pressures on the ecosystem, from industrial expansion to illegal development and the need to dismantle artificial barriers to fish migration.
Roberto De Pietro and Antonino Duchi, independent engineer and biologist respectively, presented an in-depth study of the Passo Martino weir, a structure built in the 1980s that was never put into use but continues to fragment the Simeto’s ecological continuity near its mouth. Their contribution made a compelling case for its removal, aligning with the EU’s objective to restore 25,000 km of free-flowing rivers by 2030.
Bringing together theory, practice, and local insight, the conference highlighted the urgent need to rethink how we relate to rivers, not as channels to be controlled, but as lifelines to be restored. The Simeto, with its complexity and potential, emerged as a powerful case for river-centred governance and biodiversity-sensitive restoration.