Campello nei Monti Aurunci (Itri, LT) : osservazioni preliminari sui sistemi di gestione delle acque nella Piana del Campo

Due to Its morphological conformation, The Mt. Aurunci range constitutes the main hydrological supply of the coastal Southern Lazio. Its basin is capable of sustaining many of the springs within its surroundings. The calcareous nature of the rocks and the permeability, caused by their cracking, gives way to strong and diffused karstification. This phenomenon causes the upper part of the mountainous area’s particular scarcity of water. As a result of the last ground-truthing survey that was carried out in the region as part of my PhD research, many data regarding the organization of the valleys in the heart of the Mt. Aurunci have been collected. According to the scant historical sources available, the investigated area was ruled by the castle of Campello during the Middle Ages and allegedly abandoned at the end of the XVth century. The aim of this paper is to provide preliminary observations collected during the survey regarding structures and features that were presumably purposed with the management of water and its collection. The assumption is that these structures, for their nature transversal and difficult to place chronologically, were part of a more complex water-management system developed to make up for a variety of water and environmental related problematics. Though it is still difficult to define the clear purpose of these structures, the remarks try to highlight their link to the activities that were characteristic to the valleys of Campello within this long period of time.