The Difficult Path from Knowledge to Patrimonial Acknowledgement of Olona Valley Post-Industrial Network (Valle Olona, Lombardy)

This paper aims to comprehend the knowledge production process associated with industrial heritage discipline in Italy, triggered during the 1970s and 1980s, coinciding with the establishment of international institutions in the field, such as TICCIH. With a specific focus on Olona Valley in Lombardy, characterised by continuous industrial development since the mid-18th century and the subject of multiple transformations, the article delves into the initial efforts to analyse a post-industrial network at territorial level. Despite the many limitations of Olona Valley’s recording due to its selectiveness during the 1980s, it emphasises an avant-garde methodological approach that characterises the transition from an “industrial monument” to an “industrial landscape”. Furthermore, it illustrates the difficulty of safeguarding, preserving, and enhancing such an extensive post-industrial network. It raises further reflections on the contemporary necessities of approach and intervention in which the energy transition could play a role in completing the studies and knowledge production process while impacting regional initiatives.