Technology, Economics, and Forestry: Water-Powered Sawmills in Italy's Cadore Region

Abstract

Figure , Location of Cadore in the Belluno province of northeast Italy. Illustrations accompanying thisarticle wereprovided by theauthor. Cadore, part of the Belluno province in the northeast Italian Alps, is one of Italy's most important forest regions, and the history of this land is deeply connected to its forest resources (see figure 1). Cadore's timber trade was basedon a technical and economic system that included silviculture, transportation, and milling. The system prosperedfor almost seven centuries beforedeclining at the beginning of the twentieth century.Waterpowered sawmills representone element of this system and demonstrate the level of technical knowledge that Cadore achieved.