66 Magdalena Żmudzińska-Nowak, Assunta Pelliccio
ten years. At the outset, we provide background on the
research area of Southern Lazio and its industrial heritage
and, as a point of reference, selected post-industrial sites of
Upper Silesia.
The collaborative research process followed the model
adopted by the authors, which will be described in detail
later in the text. It consisted of several stages: general
research, comparative analysis, preliminary recommenda-
tions, detailed research and case studies, detailed recom-
mendations and proposals for functional and spatial solu-
tions and the presentation and discussion of the results.
Industrial heritage as a subject of research
Although the subject of industrial heritage research
does not have a very long history, the state of research in
this area is extremely extensive. It includes surveys, re-
source inventories, documentation, a review of preserva-
tion approaches and references for adaptation and mod-
ernisation, as well as assessments of potential opportunities
and threats arising from the revitalisation process. The
substance of post-industrial sites varies in terms of type of
industry, time of construction or state of preservation.
Crucial to the state of knowledge of industrial heritage
on a global scale are the research papers and annual National
Reports published by the International Committee for the
Conservation of Industrial Heritage (TICCIH). They pro-
vide data on the state of eorts to protect and promote
post-industrial sites in dozens of countries around the world.
Another group of publications are studies that shaped
the approach to industrial heritage in their time and which
today constitute the literary canon in this eld. These include
fundamental writings on the issue – such as Binney (1984)
and Eley and Worthington (1984) – guides to the conserva-
tion of industrial heritage, reviews of procedures and theo-
retical assumptions (Douet 2012). In turn, the aspect of
identity preservation in the face of transforming post-indus-
trial areas is extensively discussed by Wicke et al. (2018).
Also, publications that provide an overview of the
achievements of the industrial heritage approach in indi-
vidual countries and regions are very relevant to the state
of research. A synthetic summary of the achievements of
the UK’s leading industrial heritage preservation eorts
can be found in a study by Keith Falconer (2006). The
book by Bart Zwegers (2022) oers a multifaceted synthe-
sis of the transformations of industrial heritage with a focus
on Germany and the UK. Likewise, more than 30 years of
Italy’s experience is described in a publication by Massimo
Preite and Gabriella Maciocco (2022), among others. On
the other hand, the Polish experience, the state of research
and the perspectives and research needs have been exten-
sively analysed by Monika Murzyn-Kupisz, Dominika
Hołuj and Jarosław Działek (2022).
Characteristics of the study area in terms
of industrial heritage: Lazio versus Upper Silesia
Southern Lazio is a region with a signicant hydrogra-
phic basin, which – combined with the innovativeness and
hard work of the local population – led to the ourishing of
industrial activity between the 19
th
century and the 2
nd
half
of the 20
th
century (Arcese et al. 2014). The Liri, Gari, Fi -
breno and Sacco rivers and their various tributaries played
a signicant role in the industrialisation of the region, trans-
forming it from a rural area into one of the most industri-
alised centres in the country. Paper mills, textile factories
and various other industrial facilities, powered by hydraulic
mills, sprang up mainly along the river routes of the Liri
Valley, using water as a source of energy. The water of the
Liri Valley rivers is characterised by low temperatures and
properties that prevent the growth of microorganisms, thus
ensuring very high-quality end products. This important
industrial district of the valley transformed rural towns into
proto-industrial “factory towns” (Pelliccio 2020).
Traditional rural houses were also used for industrial
activities, such as weaving, and even castles or noble pal-
aces were often transformed and expanded to accommo-
date industrial activities, e.g., the Boncompagni Viscogliosi
Castle in Isola del Liri (Jadecola 2019). The cultural land-
scape changed, with small mediaeval historic villages
being transformed into factory towns. Within a few
decades, 15 large wool spinning mills were built in the val-
ley, such as in Polsinelli, Zino, Ciccodicola and Manna, as
well as many other medium and small ones, more or less
mechanised. Numerous paper mills – Bartolomucci in
Picinisco, Visocchi brothers in Atina, Lanni brothers in
Sant’Elia, Courrier, Servillo, and Mazzetti in Isola and
Pelagalli paper mills in Arpino and Ceprano (Monti et al.
2020) – employed hundreds of workers, such as Count
Lefrèbre’s paper mill in Isola del Liri, which managed to
provide employment for more than 500 workers. Emilio
Boimond’s paper mill, located on the banks of the Liri
River in Valdurso, is one of the few mills that has preserved
antique machinery, including the so-called endless machine
introduced in the industrial triangle of Arpino, Sora and
Isola for the production of large sheets of paper (Dell’Ore-
ce
1984; Mancini 2016).
Most of these factories could not withstand the devasta-
tion caused by World War II and the market demand for
technological innovation. They gradually ceased opera-
tions until eventually closing. Today, most of them, many
of which are still privately owned, are completely aban-
doned. For example, in the small village of Isola del Liri,
once highly industrialised, four large paper mills and three
felt factories are housed on an area of just 0.06 km
2
, all of
which are now abandoned, except for one that has been
converted into a multipurpose building (APAT 2006)
(Fig. 1).
Thus, the industrial identity of the region has been almost
completely obliterated. While the remaining unused facili-
ties still hold signicant cultural and architectural value,
they have not been the subject of wider interest to date.
Upper Silesia is one of Europe’s largest regions of heavy
industry; it developed strongly starting in the 19
th
century’s
great industrialisation. After World War II, the Upper
Silesian Industrial District (GOP) formed the largest min-
ing and metallurgical operations area in Poland and one of
the largest in Europe. More than 50 coal mines, 43 of them
in urban areas, operated on the basis of complexes of his-
torical facilities that were constantly modernised and
