Rehabilitation of watermills for rural tourism housing - The case of Sanfins in Valpaços (Portugal).

The milling activity in Portugal at one time in its history was fundamental to the progress of the population. Mills of various types were used, including hydraulic mills, associated with water courses, constituting a real flour industry, because several products were made from them, including wheat, rye, corn, and other cereal bread. Society evolved, technology changed, and these mills were abandoned and are now vernacular constructions, in many cases in complete ruin. The mills of the hydraulic type, are located on the banks of water courses, often framed in a natural environment and landscape of high quality, favorable to ecological tourism, rural tourism and other similar low impact. It is in this context, that we understand that this vernacular heritage should not be lost, and therefore, the present case study is presented, with a proposal for the rehabilitation of a set of 14 mills on the Torto river in Sanfins, municipality of Valpaços in northern Portugal, for an eco-park of rural tourism and nature. Thus, this paper, after a geographic framing and the presentation of local natural features, presents a brief summary of the mills heritage and its importance, to then present some conceptual aspects that led to this proposal. In the proposal a park is planned with various equipment in a main nucleus, which in itself enhances the site in tourist and economic terms, with the network of mills to be rehabilitated for small rural tourism residences, including also a museum-mill, a playground and a parking area a picnic park, among others facilities. Finally, some final notes are presented, highlighting that this proposal is a solution, resulting from academic work, whose fundamental objective is to present the problem that is important from a scientific and historical point of view, but also intends to attract an investor, either state or private, so that when this project is carried out, not only is a tribute to a people, an era and a culture, but also an input to the local and regional economy, that contributes to the pride and the empowerment of local populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]