magazine

The watermill was an invention of the eastern Mediterranean basin. The first written document that notes its existence dates back to the 1st century B.C.
Its introduction into milling processes follows the adoption of the truncated cone millstone, documented by excavations at Pompeii and Ostia. The wheels of these mills could be vertical or horizontal.
Among the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, mills were driven mainly by animals, but also by slaves, poor citizens, convicted criminals.
The expansion of the watermill took place during the Middle Ages, while the windmill - already used in Persia in the 7th century AD - was introduced to Europe only in the 12th century.
The principle of watermill operation has been applied to a wide range of operating machines (pumps, spinning wheels, hammers, etc.), capable of using both continuous and rectilinear circular motion, alternating through the use of camshafts and the connecting rod-crank mechanism.
The medieval lowland cities, rich in bridges and canals, became the ideal locations for numerous mills throughout Europe.
The type of mills depended mainly on the nature of the waterways that fed them. If the river had a significant and constant flow, it was possible to place the mills flush with water.
There were also many floating mills, located on rivers and the sea, despite the dangers of breaking moorings.
The operation of tidal mills was peculiar: when a bend in the coast was dammed, the upward flow filled a reservoir, the water of which was used at low tide. The first mills of this type are those in the English port of Dover, from the 12th century.
The wheels were generally made of oak wood, rimmed with iron with a few dozen blades and rested on lead-lined supports.

The large drive shafts were also made of oak wood and were held by lead supports, while other gears were elm and their teeth mated to the spindles of a cage wheel.
A large central shaft caused the upper millstone contained, together with the fixed lower one, to move in a box.
Among the innovations introduced between the 19th and 20th centuries, noteworthy are the construction of cast iron and steel parts instead of wood, the use of alternative energy sources such as steam and electricity, as well as the use of quartz millstones, which are harder and capable of withstanding the increased rotation speed.
With the advent of cylinder mills in the 19th century, the grain was no longer crushed and "confricated", but passed through pairs of rotating hard cast iron cylinders. In this way, a more refined product is created, reducing the overheating of the flours and, consequently, their deterioration.
The presence of bran is also eliminated, after several passes. White bread, although losing its nutritional and nutritional properties due to the absence of bran and semolina, has since begun to represent a true social status symbol.
Today, in the food industry, a mill refers to the entire processing plant for grain and flour grains.

​