There is a new attention in Casalmaggiore for landscape patterns thanks to the recent diffusion of photography: great interest is given to the big works, such as the iron railway bridge, the excavation of drainage channels, the glimpses of the river and, in particular, the floating mills.
A mill was inserted in the manifesto of Casalmaggiore Exposition by Tommaso Aroldi in 1910, together with other symbols of local work and economy, as a celebratory image of positivist faith in advancement, which soon after experienced a recession.
The floating mills were used in Casalmaggiore for centuries. They were made of two flanked boats, which were anchored to the river bottom and tied to the bank. There was a big wood paddle wheel in the middle of the boats, and it was moved by the flow of the river. The movement was sent to the millstone. This activity gave work to generations living in Casalmaggiore: millers, porters, boatmen and carters. Authorities began to reduce the permits and incentivise their demolition at the end of the 19th century: the sailing was hindered and blades caused a deleterious flowing. The end of the floating mills was determined by the electric grinding event, which replaced the traditional grinding (which used the water driving force), bringing the construction of mills in the city centre.
