1Transformations of industrial heritage constitute a central theme for understanding the dynamics of territorial evolution and prospects for sustainable development in Alpine areas. Scientific literature has now moved beyond a stereotyped vision of Alpine territories, recognising their role as productive areas characterised by significant economic and social vitality. In the European context, the Alps have represented not so much a barrier as a link between different peoples and cultures, a function further reinforced by industrialisation.
2However, the deindustrialisation process that affected these territories from the 1970s onwards has generated what Storm (2016) defines as “painful changes”, particularly evident in mountain areas identified as marginal territories. In this context, Valsesia represents an emblematic case study for analysing the relationships between extractive activities, forest resource management, and territorial transformations. The availability of exceptional historical documentary sources, such as the 1759 Topographic Map of the Sesia Valley, enables the reconstruction of the evolution of forest management practices in relation to mining activities, providing new interpretive keys for understanding mountain productive landscapes. This article aims to analyse this evolution through a multidisciplinary approach that integrates historical analysis, environmental assessment, and study of contemporary territorial policies, contributing to the debate on sustainable regeneration of post-industrial Alpine territories.
3The scientific literature has widely surpassed a stereotypical vision of mountain territories as bucolic and pristine spaces (Barbera et al., 2022; De Rossi, 2018; Del Fiore, 2024). For the Italian context, several authors have identified how the Alps have represented a productive space characterised by significant economic and social vitality (Baldi and Marcantoni, 2016; Migliorati and Veronesi, 2020). In the European context, several studies (Netting, 1981; Perlik, 2019; Salsa, 2019) have shown that the Alps have not so much represented a barrier as a bridge between different peoples and cultures. This connecting function was further reinforced by the industrialisation phenomenon, which attracted flows of people, capital, and know-how, contributing to the shaping of Alpine communities’ identities.
4Perlik (2019) highlights how the transformation of mountain regions involved the transition from Fordist regimes to liberal-productivism regimes, which transformed landscapes into commodities. Mountains thus assumed the role of “R-regions” (resource regions), specialising in providing specific resources for surrounding metropolitan areas. Despite this, Perlik and Sega (2022) emphasise how the renewal of Alpine industry represents a key to rethink the future, requiring innovative strategies capable of valorising mountain territorial specificities.
5Industrialisation indeed had a significant impact on the territorial configuration of the Alps (Modica, 2019). The deindustrialisation process of the 1970s thus generated consequences on physical, economic, and social aspects, particularly in mountain areas defined as marginal, where the absence of alternative sectors forced territories to face what Storm defined as “painful changes” (2016): emigration, employment crisis, demographic ageing, and loss of heritage linked to industrial history. This condition aligns with the broader debate on “left-behind places” (Pike et al., 2023) and is reflected in Italian national policies such as the National Strategy for Inner Areas and the National Green Communities Strategy (Fontana et al., 2023).
6Structural changes in primary resource exploitation have led to the growth of post-mining landscapes (Modica, 2020). Mountain extractive activities, both in the Alps and other mountain regions, have produced profound alterations of ecosystems and cultural landscapes (Berger, 2002; Wirth et al., 2012), leaving a complex legacy: water contamination, geomorphological instability, habitat deterioration, and socioeconomic transformations (Langhorst et al. 2017). In this framework, managing the material legacy of deindustrialisation processes today represents a crucial challenge for the future development of the Alpine region, requiring specific approaches that depart from models developed for urban contexts. Torricelli and Duvillard (2019), in an editorial for a thematic issue of the Journal of Alpine Research/Revue de géographie alpine dedicated to abandoned areas, highlight how “mountain wastelands” constitute a complex phenomenon that requires a specific reading compared to interpretive models developed for urban contexts. The authors distinguish different types of abandoned spaces—tourist, industrial, military, medical, and agricultural—each characterised by specific “life cycles” that influence their trajectories and reconversion potential. This approach demonstrates how transformation potential depends not only on the physical characteristics of abandoned spaces but also on the social, political, and economic contexts that generated them, as well as on the temporal dynamics that determine their evolution.
7In this perspective, a fundamental contribution is offered by Ferrario, Castiglioni and Quaglia (2021), who, through the analysis of “obsolete structures,” propose a multidimensional theoretical framework for understanding obsolescence in mountain infrastructures. The authors distinguish three dimensions: the degree of functionality, the degree of relevance of the original function, and the degree of adequacy to the context. This approach reveals the complexity of value/disvalue attribution processes in abandoned industrial heritage. It highlights how landscape patrimonialisation processes can paradoxically prevent the recognition of the heritage value of contemporary anthropic elements, generating tensions between patrimonial and territorial visions of the landscape.
8Within this debate, the analysis of Valsesia offers an original contribution focusing on the relationships between extractive activities and forest management. Unlike existing literature, focused on built heritage, this article highlights how mining impact affected semi-natural environments, configuring a specific environmental legacy that persists beyond the cessation of industrial activities. The diachronic approach, based on the comparison between eighteenth-century historical sources and contemporary data, contributes to understanding the evolutionary dynamics of mountain productive landscapes and their sustainable regeneration potential.
9The study pursues three main objectives. The first consists of analysing the transformations of the Valsesian forest heritage as a distinctive form of industrial legacy, focusing on how mining activities shaped territorial configuration and forest management practices. However, despite the extensive literature on post-industrial transformations of Alpine territories, limited attention has been paid to the impact of extractive activities on forest heritage, a particularly significant aspect in a context where the mining industry has profoundly influenced woodland management practices and overall territorial organisation.
10The second objective is to reconstruct the evolution of forest management practices in relation to historical mining activities, highlighting how transformations of woodland heritage reflect changes in territorial production models. Through diachronic analysis of historical sources and contemporary data, the study identifies continuities and discontinuities in the modes of utilisation and valorisation of forest resources, contributing to the understanding of the transformation processes that have characterised the Valsesian territory from the eighteenth century to the present.
11The third objective consists of developing a diachronic approach that integrates historical cartographic and archival sources with contemporary forest data to analyse post-industrial territorial transformations. This methodological contribution, though based on the Valsesian case, offers insights for understanding the long-term dynamics that characterise mountain productive landscapes, with reference to the relationships between extractive activities and forest heritage.
12The research proposes a multidisciplinary approach that integrates various documentary sources and investigative methodologies. Central to the analysis is the 1759 Topographic Map of the Sesia Valley, a document of exceptional historical value that provides a detailed representation of eighteenth-century territory and the complex relationships between woods, mines, and productive infrastructures. The study also uses historical mining archives, including registers, technical reports, and administrative documents, to reconstruct the evolution of forest practices. Historical analysis is integrated with the 2016 Piedmont forest maps, enabling a diachronic evaluation of territorial transformations that can be compared with the historical map. The use of the 1759 Topographic Map as a primary source presents undoubted advantages for understanding long-term territorial dynamics, but also involves significant methodological limitations.
13The document represents an exceptional source for cartographic precision; however, the operational nature of the mapping may have involved a selective representation of forest areas, favouring those accessible for timber extraction. Historical data, extracted from the tables on the 1759 Map, were manipulated to make them comparable with Forest Map data and those presented in the CaSCo (Carbon Smart Communities) project report, a European project funded by the Interreg Alpine Space program. In particular, the dialectal nomenclature of species was associated with forest categories used in the Forest Map through an initial identification of the respective Italian name, thanks to the 1873 Annals of the Ministry of Agriculture and then with the attribution of forest categories to individual species. Units of measurement—expressed in the eighteenth-century Map in giornate, tese and rubbi—were converted to contemporary units of measurement—respectively square metres, cubes and kilograms—thanks to the equivalences reported by Peco (1988). By doing so, it was possible to compare the consistency of Valsesian woods quantitatively and qualitatively at the two historical moments, extracting the comparative reflections described in the respective sections of this essay.
14The interdisciplinary methodology combines historical investigation, territorial analysis, and environmental assessment, enabling an understanding of the transformation dynamics of post-industrial Valsesian forest heritage.
15Valsesia, located in Piedmont and administratively part of the province of Vercelli, extends from the rice-growing plain to the Monte Rosa massif, characterised as a heterogeneous territory marked by typical problems of Alpine areas (Figure 1). In recent decades, the valley has experienced a progressive demographic decline due to emigration to larger urban centres; at the same time, sectors such as tourism, crafts, and mountain agriculture continue to play a significant role. The local economy is primarily characterised by three key areas: tourism, light industry, and agro-silvo-pastoral activities. The first benefits from the valorisation of Monte Rosa, although the absence of high-capacity infrastructures and the delay in digitalisation constitute limiting factors (Unione montana Valsesia, 2022).
Figure 1: Geographic framing of Valsesia
Authors’ elaboration.
16The territory presents a high endowment of natural resources (Figure 2). Forests, mainly composed of beeches, chestnuts, larches, and firs, are essential both for the timber industry and for hydrogeological stability. The water heritage, represented by the Sesia river and a network of streams and alpine lakes, supports hydroelectric production, contributing to the local context for sustainable development.
Figure 2: Territorial framing and rural/forest map of Valsesia
Authors’ elaboration.
17From a historical perspective, Valsesia developed a significant industrial tradition from the eighteenth century, initially linked to textile and paper manufacturing, which exploited the water energy of the Sesia river. In the nineteenth century, the expansion of textile and mechanical factories favoured a phase of economic and demographic growth, subsequently compromised by the twentieth-century manufacturing crisis. In parallel, mining activities played a primary role: iron, copper, and gold deposits attracted noble investments and specialised labour, reaching their peak under the Kingdom of Sardinia. The advent of Italian Unity (1861) and growing international competition marked the beginning of the decline, however. In 1894, the constitution of the Monte Rosa Gold Mining Company, backed by foreign capital, temporarily revived the sector, which also shifted its focus toward manganese extraction. However, during the twentieth century, the mines were progressively abandoned. The material legacies of such activities today constitute a heritage of historical and cultural relevance.
18During the eighteenth century, mineral extraction and processing activities in Valsesia reflected European metalliferous practices (Serra e Terzano, 2020). The ore was transported from the galleries, crushed, and prepared for smelting in foundries, where the metal was separated by fusion. Reaching high temperatures required large quantities of charcoal from state forest timber, necessitating forest planning. In 1752, the Savoyard State established a commission to control woodland cutting in relation to the mines. Documents such as the Royal Billet of April 24, 1752, and the memoirs of Nicolis di Robilant (1774) highlighted the need to census and conserve forests.
19Between 1753 and 1758, engineer Giovanni Giacomo Cantù conducted a surveying campaign to census the Valsesian woods. The synthesis of this work is the 1759 Topographic Map in scale of the Sesia Valley (Figure 3), drawn by Ignazio Costanzo Bourgiotti, whose precision suggests the use of triangulation (Peco, 1988). The map serves as a memory of the “valley system” and captures the most intense moment of Savoyard mining exploitation. Forest properties were censused both qualitatively and quantitatively, recording tree species, trunk diameter, and potential uses for charcoal production and mining infrastructure. From the map (Figure 4) and numerous representations by Nicolis Di Robilant (Figure 5), it emerges that the location of forges and foundries depended on proximity to the most flourishing woods, particularly of broadleaves. In the eighteenth century, it was more convenient to transport ore downhill rather than move large quantities of wood uphill. Crushing plants were often located near streams, which provided the necessary motive force and water for washing processes.
Figure 3: Topographic map in scale of the Sesia Valley
Turin State Archive Court Section, Topographic Maps by A and B, Sesia 1.
Figure 4: Location of mining system elements
Authors’ elaboration on the Topographic map in the scale of the Sesia Valley.
Figure 5: Representations of the Valsesian mining system
Spirito Benedetto Nicolis di Robilant, De l’utilité et de l’importance des voyages, et des courses dans son propre pays, Freres Reycends Libraires, Turin, 1790.
20Such a vast and precise census assumed great value not only for mining history but also for the valley’s environmental study, serving as the basis for subsequent regulations aimed at managing the use of woodland resources. The Savoyard government’s concern for deforestation, which had already emerged in the first half of the century in other areas of the kingdom, did not, however, find application in Valsesia, independent from the central government, until the drafting of the 1759 Map. The following year, a Project of Edict for the Conservation of Woods in Valsesia was drafted, which aimed to manage forest heritage. Still, it was never promulgated due to privileges confirmed by the king in 1761. The introduction denounced the “abuse of Forests long prevailing in the Sesia Valley” and uncontrolled cutting, linked to charcoal shortages and the desire to export (Tizzoni, 1989). Only with the Royal Patents of 1822 and 1833, originating from the State Forestry Corps, was regulation for woodland protection initiated (Regis e Fantoni, 2023).
21Following the mining crisis and deindustrialisation, forest production in Valsesia was limited by the difficulty of exporting timber outside the valley, due to the lack of adequate infrastructure. Consequently, timber cutting occurred on small surfaces or on single trees, responding only to local inhabitants’ needs. With the onset of World War I, timber consumption increased significantly, leading to the intensive exploitation of forest resources, including the most remote territories of lateral valleys. The forestry industry of the time focused particularly on charcoal production, obtained mainly from beech coppices. Subsequently, World War II gave a further impulse to timber consumption to meet war needs, causing, in a few decades, a drastic impoverishment of public forest heritage. After decades of limited use, forestry activities resumed in the 1980s, under the management mainly of the then State Forestry Corps.
22Today, the use of forest resources in Valsesia is primarily driven by heat production, particularly through the use of firewood, as confirmed by data from the CaSCo research—Alpine Space 2014–2020 (Figure 6). Although beech woods, historically exploited for charcoal, are today among the least accessible due to centuries of deforestation (Unione Montana Valesia, 2017), the use of wood for energy purposes remains the most rooted and culturally consolidated form of woodland use. Other modalities, such as the use of tall coniferous trees in traditional construction or the exploitation of new large quantities of chestnut for tannin and poles, are less developed due to the lack of a local timber processing chain. Precisely to fill this gap, new training initiatives are emerging, such as the Barolo Upper Timber School, and territorial strategies are being developed to build a more efficient and integrated supply chain.
Figure 6: Destination of roundwood produced in the valley and distribution of species and accessible hectares
Authors’ elaboration on Alpine Space CaSCo project data.
23Forest management is currently based on the 2016 Piedmont Forest Map, a tool that provides a detailed classification of forest types and land use (Figures 7–8), supporting planning, environmental monitoring, and the prevention of hydrogeological instability. At the local level, a key role is played by the Monterosa Foreste association, which has drafted, for 17 of the 27 municipalities of the Mountain Union, the Forest Business Plan (PFA), adopted in 2024. The synergy between Monterosa Foreste and Mountain Union has also enabled the realisation of the study within the CaSCo project, which aims to analyse the timber value chain by reinterpreting the 2016 Forest Map data to outline local chain potential. Moreover, recent territorial policies, coordinated by the Valsesia Mountain Union, such as the Strategy for Inner Areas and the emerging Green Community—sustainable development plan named “Sesia Green”—place the forestry issue at the centre of development strategies, integrating objectives of protection, economic valorisation, and energy sustainability.
Figure 7: Forest categories
Authors’ elaboration on 2016 Forest Map data.
Figure 8: Forest destinations
Authors’ elaboration on 2016 Forest Map data.
24According to the authors, analysing the quantitative and qualitative transformations of forest heritage enables an evaluation of contemporary policy prospects. The comparison between the eighteenth-century census and the 2016 Forest Map reveals significant transformations: from 10,884 hectares censused in 1759, we have progressed to 48,792 hectares in 2016, of which 16,208 hectares were designated as accessible according to Monte Rosa Foreste’s calculations. The increase reflects both fundamental transformations of forest heritage, linked to pasture abandonment and temperature increases, as well as differences in surveying objectives.
25This research highlights a ratio between wooded surface and total area that has increased from 15% in 1759 to 64% today, with 21% of the area accessible. The eighteenth-century Map, born for mining needs, indeed represented mainly the areas of easiest exploitation.
26Alongside quantitative increase, qualitative changes emerge. The predominance of beech in 1759 (49.60%) compared to a greater presence of chestnut groves today (36.47%) does not represent only a change in species distribution. Still, it reflects a profound transformation in territorial production models, as evidenced by the territorial distribution of forest categories (cf. Figure 6). Indeed, in the eighteenth-century system, the distribution of forest species responded to precise productive logics: beech was privileged and mapped with greater relevance to produce charcoal with high calorific value, essential for mineral smelting activities. The contemporary system, however, exhibits greater functional diversification. Current chestnut groves respond to multiple uses—firewood, wood chips, tannin production and poles—inserting themselves in more articulated but also more fragmented production chains compared to the integrated eighteenth-century system, as illustrated by current forest destinations (cf. Figure 8). Particularly significant is the fact that today, three-quarters of the beech forests present in the territory are inaccessible, highlighting how the uncontrolled cutting of the last two centuries has reduced the supply of this species. With extended growth and germination times, this species has been gradually replaced by more resilient and rapidly growing species.
27Conversely, contemporary chestnut groves exhibit greater utilisation, with one-third of the material produced being exported outside Valsesian territory. This dynamic maintains extractive logics that limits the complete territorialization of the forest chain, highlighting how the transition toward a circular economy model remains incomplete, albeit partially promoted by territorial strategies.
28The results emerged from the diachronic analysis of Valsesia contribute to a relevant question for understanding Alpine post-industrial transformations. The research demonstrates how historical mining activities have permanently altered forest management, resulting in specific environmental legacies that persist beyond the cessation of extractive activities. This perspective, though limited to the Valsesian case, suggests the need to integrate consolidated approaches that focus on abandoned physical structures with analysis of industrial impact on semi-natural environments. The studied case indicates how post-industrial legacy can manifest through systemic transformations of landscapes that do not necessarily involve the presence of physically identifiable “obsolete” structures.
29The type of environmental legacy identified in Valsesia is clearly distinct from the categories proposed by existing literature. While Torricelli and Duvillard (2019) classify “mountain wastelands” according to original function, and Ferrario, Castiglioni and Quaglia (2021) articulate obsolescence in three dimensions, the Valsesian case reveals a fourth: transformations that have permanently reconfigured territorial systems without generating “obsolete” physical structures. This requires abandoning the automatic equation between deindustrialisation and physical degradation, to instead embrace a more complex reading of systemic continuities.
30The developed methodological approach offers evident advantages compared to existing studies on Alpine post-industrial landscapes. The diachronic integration between exceptional historical sources and contemporary forest data enables reconstruction of long-term dynamics that escape the synchronic approaches dominant in the literature. However, this methodology presents limitations that must be recognised: the operational nature of the 1759 Map may have involved selective representations, while complex adaptations of nomenclatures and units of measurement maintain margins of uncertainty.
31This interpretation must be preferred to traditional readings of Alpine deindustrialisation for three fundamental reasons. First, diachronic evidence suggests that mountain post-industrial processes differ from urban models of abandonment and reuse, generating systemic transformations that persist through functional reconfigurations. Second, the approach to environmental legacies enables an understanding of territorial dynamics that remain invisible to studies focused on physical structures. Third, the diachronic approach experimented in the Valsesian case could offer methodological insights for analysing other Alpine contexts with analogous archival endowments. However, such applicability requires further validation through comparative case studies.
32This study nevertheless presents limitations that circumscribe the generalisation of conclusions. Focusing on a single case study prevents comparative verifications, while documentary gaps of the intermediate period limit the complete reconstruction of transition processes. In particular, the methodological approach requires validation through applications to other Alpine territorial contexts to confirm the robustness of the proposed analytical tools.
33The research addresses a central question for understanding Alpine territorial transformations: how to interpret the legacy of industrialisation and deindustrialisation processes in mountain contexts that present specificities irreducible to urban models? The analysis has demonstrated that historical mining activities of Valsesia have generated a specific form of environmental legacy that has reconfigured territorial relationships through three transformation levels.
34The first level concerns the regulatory and legal-normative context. The investigation has highlighted how the introduction of new rules relating to the protection and classification of woodland heritage has profoundly modified the forest governance framework. This evolutionary process, which began with the 1759 Topographic Map and is confirmed today in the National Strategy for Inner Areas and Green Communities, testifies to the progressive institutionalisation of forest management, with significant implications for territorial development.
35The second level concerns physical modifications of the woodland in its productive dimension. Diachronic analysis has highlighted the shift from eighteenth-century logics, which privileged beech woods for charcoal production, toward the current fragmentation of the production chain, characterised by the absence of sawmills and the lack of an integrated organisational structure. This transformation reflects the transition from a linear production system, typical of the mining era, to a potentially circular, contemporary one, which is still in the process of definition.
36The third level concerns the territorial dimension of forest management, which has followed a cyclical evolutionary path: from large-area management, typical of the mining period and documented in Savoyard registers, it moved to fragmented management at the municipal level during the intermediate phase, to then return in the contemporary context to a large-area vision, oriented toward sustainability principles and territorial integration, as demonstrated by recent regional forest planning initiatives.
37These results have significant theoretical implications. For geographers, identifying environmental legacies requires expanding analysis beyond abandoned structures to include reconfigurations of semi-natural environments. For industrial heritage theorists, the Valsesian case demonstrates that obsolescence categories do not fully capture the complexity of post-industrial legacies, necessitating articulated frameworks. On the practical level, the results offer elements for policymakers in implementing territorial policies (SNAI and Green community), where understanding historical processes of forest reconfiguration can inform strategies that valorise territorial specificities (Figure 9).
Figure 9: Woods in Valsesia
Authors’ photos.
38The research contributes to the international scientific debate on post-industrial transformations in mountains, providing three empirical pieces of evidence. First, Alpine deindustrialisation processes are not limited to the abandonment of physical structures, but they also generate environmental legacies that persist through systemic reconfigurations of the territory. Second, interpretive models developed for urban contexts require significant adaptations to be applied to mountain territories, where topographic, climatic, and social specificities generate distinctive dynamics. Third, the diachronic approach, which integrates historical sources and contemporary data, offers practical methodological tools for understanding long-term territorial transformations.
39Finally, the research opens three directions for future deepening. On the empirical level, extending comparative analysis to other Alpine valleys with analogous mining histories would enable verification of the generalisation of identified dynamics. On the theoretical level, the development of the concept of environmental legacy requires comparisons with other post-industrial contexts to define its applicative boundaries. On the methodological level, validation of analytical tools through multiple applications would contribute to the development of standardised protocols for the diachronic study of mountain territorial transformations.