Machine rooms and transmission belts. And, before that, water power. The short breath for the advent of modern industry, airplanes and Nazi occupation. Mills that have turned here  since the Dukes of Urbino.

A different way of looking at the territory, looking at the factories from  yesterday, with the baggage of stories, development and tenacity.

The Filanda Maiani in Forlì, which today is an art gallery especially dedicated to the artists of the city. The silk factory was founded in 1898, in 1926, it took up about nine thousand square meters, employing six hundred people employed in silk production for American, English and German customers. A modern industry with a pre-school for the workers' children, a mutual relief company, and space for a coffee break, with a drink dispenser for employees.

With the advent of synthetic fibres the factory changed production and in 1926, Mangelli opened a cellophane production plant that employed a thousand and fifty workers.  In Predappio, however, there is the former Caproni aeronautical establishment, which can only be visited externally. A place that is synonymous with "Savoia Marchetti S.M. 81” aircraft used by the fascist regime. In 1937, it was used for the exclusive production the "Caproni Ca. 164"  biplane. It was expanded in 1940 due to the war but under Nazi occupation the machinery was moved to the north and production in this area stopped.

Curiosity: In the basements that were formerly used as shelters, today there are crops of champignon mushrooms growing.

In Romagna Forlivese, there are examples of industrial archeology in the upper valley of the River Metauro. In Fermignano, there is a hydroelectric plant, the wind farm, and a mill that turns thanks to the waters of the River Metauro.

The former mill became a hydroelectric power station in 1935 and was rebuilt in 1946. The structure was mined by the Germans during their retreat, but the buildings were rescued by the inhabitants and then used by allies for two functions: grain milling and military use.

Where the factory stands today, there once was a paper mill that started in 1408 and worked until 1800.

To live it all one has to go to Fermignano, find the right spot and admire, in a single glance, the structures in addition to the Roman bridge and the medieval tower. It is a unique panorama.

Along the whole basin of the Metauro, one hears stories of the last mugnai (forest workers), following the course of the hydraulic mills. Some structures have disappeared over time, others have survived as commercial and tourist structures or have a residential function. Examples of good conservation are found in : Borgo Pace, Mercatello sul Metauro, Sant'Angelo in Vado, Peglio, Urbania, Urbino, Apecchio, Piobbico, Acqualagna, Cagli, Cantiano, Cesano: Frontone, Serra Sant’Abbondio, Montecopiolo, Mount Grimano, Mercatino Conca, Sassofeltrio, Tavoleto, Carpegna, Frontino, Piandimeleto, Sassocorvaro, Macerata Feltria.

In Premilcuore the very close link of the community with its river is witnessed by the mills, that are completely restored and working: the Castel dell'Alpe mill and the Mengozzi mill in Fiumicello. should be seen to marvel at their technique and imagining them as a source of life for the territory.

After so much water, the flow of archeology, ideally, becomes contemporary, passing through the medieval forges of the Castello in Pietrarubbia, a village saved thanks to the artist Arnaldo Pomodoro, originally from the territory.

In the Church of San Sylvester there is a bronze sun and in the building of the Pomodoro foundation, thanks to the Centre for the artistic treatment of metals, works of the students are exhibited.

In Macerata Feltria, the Museum of Industrial Archeology accompanies the discovery of working equipment, active in mechanical workshops. There are, for example, an 1898 machine used for threshing operations and a 1908 engine that is used as a lathe, a horizontal drill and grinding wheel.

All for functionality, art and creation through the centuries.