ReUso 2025. Territori Marginali_Patrimonio a Rischio Documentazione | Restauro | Rigenerazione | Sostenibilità

Water-based systems, including mills, have largely fallen into disuse in Calabria (Italy) due to the decline in wheat cultivation. This abandonment not only results in the physical loss of architectural heritage but also leads to an intangible loss of cultural memory and local identity. A few water mills have managed to persist, one notable example being the Perrotta Mill in Paola (Italy, CS), which serves as the focus of this research. The origins of this mill, undocumented, are lost in centuries past, and its structure belongs to the type of ritrecine mills, the most widespread in the Calabrian territory, characterized by the adoption of a horizontal water wheel. Although this type is less efficient than the vertical one, it has proven to be more adaptable to the nature of its watercourses, whose flow, not constant, is strongly subject to the rhythms of the seasons. For this study, the direct experience of the miller, one of the last active millers in Calabria, has been used; he is one of the last custodians of the memory of traditions and the reference terms adopted. To ensure the preservation of these endangered structures and the activities carried out within them, this paper employs laser scanning in combination with augmented reality (AR) techniques for both an in-depth geometric survey of the building and the simulation of the working principles of the hydraulic system activating the mechanics of the mill.