e-Perimetron ,Vol.7,No.1,2012[115] www.eperimetron.org| ISSN17903769

AnnaGuarducci ∗,LucaDeravignone,BarbaraGelli,ClaudioGreppi,GiuseppeLauricella, GiancarloMacchiJanica,GiulioTarchi Imago Tusciae : A digital archive of historical maps of ()

Keywords :CartographicHeritage,digitalarchives,Tuscany,historiccartography Summary The Imago Tusciae project,developedattheGeographyWorkshopoftheDepartmentofHistory at the University of (working group: Cinzia Bartoli, Luca Deravignone, Barbara Gelli, Claudio Greppi, Giuseppe Lauricella, Fortunato Lepore, Giancarlo Macchi Janica and Giulio Tarchi),isanonlinedigitalarchiveofthehistoriccartographyofTuscany.Atpresentthearchive comprisesaround2,000documentsbelongingtodifferentfondsoftheSienaStateArchives,soon tobejoinedbythemapsfromtheStateArchives.Theobjectiveisthatofprogressively gathering within the archive the cartographic documentation from the various registries in Tuscany(archivesandbothpublicandprivatelibraries)aswellasthatconcerningTuscanybut conservedelsewhere(inItalyandabroad). In addition to operating as a means for consulting the data and seeking information, the applicationalsomakesitpossibletoviewthemapsandotherrelateddocumentsinhighresolution andoffersarangeoftoolsforstudyandreflection:informativefactsheetsonthedocuments,lists ofauthorswithrespectivebiographicaldetails,bibliographicreferences,listsofarchivefondsand atlasesofmapscompletewithdescriptionsandaninteractivechronologylocalisedonthemapof moderndayTuscany.ByexploitingthetechnicalfeaturesofWeb2.0(throughtabbedbrowsing) and using a linear and intuitive interface architecture, the application seeks to offer a user experienceassimilaraspossibletothatofascholaratadeskinanarchive,withdocumentsof diverseprovenanceandsuggestionsgeneratedbythecrossreferencedexaminationofthesources.

Introduction

Imago Tusciae is an online digital archive project related to the historical cartography of Tuscany (Italy)producedbyaworkteamfromtheGeographyLaboratoryoftheDepartmentofHistoryofthe UniversityofSiena(inpartnershipwithCinziaBartoli,FortunatoLeporeandGiovannaTramacere) (GuarducciandGreppi2008).Thedigitalarchivepresentlyincludes2023documentsthatbelongto variouscollectionsintheSienaStateArchivesandwerepreviouslyavailableforofflineconsultation (from2006on)atcomputerstationsintheSienaStateArchivesandintheGeographyLaboratory. Some 2250 maps from the Grosseto State Archives, most of which have already been reproduced digitallyandfiled,willsoonbeadded. ThisprojecthasbeenmadepossiblethankstothefinancialsupportoftheMontedeiPaschidiSiena FoundationandtwotriennialmemorandaofintentstipulatedbetweentheDepartmentofHistoryof the University of Siena and the state archives of Siena and Grosseto, with the goal of continually improving the preservation and valorisation of the documentary heritage held in these institutions. ThesetwolargedepositoriesgathertogetherthemostimportantdocumentsrelatedtotheOldSienese

∗Supervisor,ImagoTusciae.DigitalarchiveofhistoricalmapsofTuscany/LaboratoryofGeograpfhy,Departement ofHistory,UniversityofSiena[[email protected]]

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State, which primarily included the presentday provinces of Siena and Grosseto, i.e. southern Tuscany,fromtheMiddleAgesuntiltheunificationofItaly.Theheritagemainlycomprisesmanu scripts–fewofwhichwereprintedinTuscanyorelsewhereforcommercialorcelebratorypurposes –drawninIndianinkand/orwatercolourortempera.Fromthefourteenthtothenineteenthcenturies suchgraphicalrepresentationswereproducedbycentralorlocalgovernmentinstitutionsunderthe domainoftheofSienaandtheNewSieneseState,whichmaintainedampleadministrative autonomywhenitbecamepartoftheGrandDuchyofTuscanyfoundedbyCosimoIdeiMediciin themidsixteenthcentury.In176566,GrandDukePietroLeopoldoofLorrainetransformedtheareas inandaroundSienaandGrossetointotwodistricts(theUpperandLowerSieneseProvinces),each granteditsownadministrativeautonomywithintheGranducalState,whichcontinuedupto1859on theeveofItalianunification.

Figure1.ImagoTusciaehomepage.Inadditiontoapresentationoftheproject,usersareofferedthechoiceofworkingwitha singlearchiveorallthecontentsofthedatabase. After unification, the regional government ceased promoting cartographic production (apart from somelocalrepresentationsdraftedbymunicipalofficesand Genio Civile ,decentralisedgovernment civilengineeringoffices),untiltheIstitutoGeograficoMilitarebeganproducingthe“Cartad’Italia” (Maps of Italy) withscalesof1:100,000,1:50,000and1:25,000inthe1870sand‘80s. Animportantpartoftheiconographicheritagethatweconsideredwasalsoproducedonbehalfof civic bodies (representing clerics, hospital workers and knights) as well as uppermiddleclass and aristocraticfamiliesinSienawhoownedlargeproperties,suchasestates,farms,landholdings,mills, homes and workshops. Other documents refer to the considerable number of Tuscan and foreign landownerswithsizeablepropertieswhoalsohadjurisdictionalpowerovertheinhabitedareasand territorialdistrictsofsouthernTuscany,atleastuntilthetimeofGrandDukePietroLeopoldo(1765 1790). SomeofthemostfamousworksofcartographypreservedinthestatearchivesofSienaandGrosseto

[2] e-Perimetron ,Vol.7,No.1,2012[115] www.eperimetron.org| ISSN17903769 includedrawingsbyGranducalengineerandarchitectFerdinandoMorozzifromthesecondhalfof theeighteenthcentury(Francovich1976;Guarducci2008);the group of loosemapsfromthe col lectionoftheMagistraturadeiQuattroConservatoridelloStatoSenese(Vichi1990);andasampleof mapsfromvariouscollectionsintheGrossetoStateArchivesthatwereexhibitedin2001(Barsanti, BonelliConennaandRombai2001). Ourultimategoalisambitious.Iftheprojectattractstheinterestandsupportofterritorialinstitutions (theregionalgovernmentofTuscanyoritsprovinces), Imago Tusciae willprogressivelycollectthe cartographicdocumentationlocatedinallthearchivesandpublicandprivatelibrariesinTuscany,as wellasthatrelatedtotheregionbutpreservedelsewhere(inItalyorabroad),inordertocreatethe mostcompletedigitalcataloguepossible.

Dispersion of cartographic documents

The abundant geoiconographic documentation related to Tuscany is in fact spread among several depositoriesinsideandoutsidetheregionaswellasincitiesinItalyandabroad,infamilyarchives and in institutions and businesses that, while still in operation, may not be easy to reach and/or consult.Manydocuments(bothprintsand manuscripts)have endedupinthehands of Italian and foreigncollectors.Notonlydoesthisstateofaffairspresentanobstacleforresearchers,butitisalso oneofthemainmotivationsofthisproject. Thousandsoffourteenthtonineteenthcenturymaps,primarilyhandwrittenadministrativedocuments (with a few printed exceptions), are kept in the state archives of Lucca, Florence, Massa, Pisa, Livorno, Siena, , Pistoia, Prato and Grosseto and in the library of the Istituto Geografico MilitareinFlorence(Rombai2010a;Rombai2010b),inadditiontootherlibrariesandmunicipaland local archives that are too numerous to list here (in Florence alone these include the Biblioteca NazionaleCentrale,theRiccardiana,theMorenianaandtheOsservatorioXimeniano). Many documents related to the region are also preserved in public archives and libraries in other Italianregionsandabroad.AlargenumberofmapsrelatedtoTuscanyinparticular,aretobefound throughout Italy, including the state and ministerial archives and the Istituto Storico e di Cultura dell'ArmadelGenioinRome;thestatearchivesandtheIstitutoIdrograficodellaMarinainGenoa; and the state archives of Modena, Bologna, Parma and Naples. They are also located in various foreign countries: (in the Archivos de Estado in Madrid and in Simancas); (in the ArchivesNationalesandtheBibliothèqueNationaleinParisandintheServiceHistoriquedel’Armée de Terre and the Service Historique de la Marine in Vincennes); Austria (in the Österreichischen Staatsarchiv, the Kriegsarchiv and the Hauptbibliothek in Vienna); Great Britain (in the National Archives and the National Marine Archives in London); and the Czech Republic (in the Rodinný Archiv,ToskánsckýchHabsburkůinPrague). Thedispersionofthedocumentation,withtheproblemsthisentails,explainswhywehavelimited knowledgeatourdisposal.ThoughmanystudieshavebeenconductedonallorpartsoftheTuscan region,weknowofonlyafewsufficientlycompleteinventoriesofcartographicdocumentsrelatedto singleareasororganisedintosinglearchivesanddepositorycollections.TheseincludetheOsserva torioXimenianoinFlorence,theMiscellaneadiPianteintheFlorenceStateArchivesandthePiante dell’UfficioFiumieFossiinthePisaStateArchives.

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The typology and contents of historical cartographic documents

Asnotedabove,Tuscanypossessesasignificantcartographicheritagethatwasprimarilyproducedby centraland peripheral offices fromthe fourteenthtothenineteenthcenturies,mainly thankstothe initiativesofthetwoStatesofFlorence(expandedtoincludetheprovincesofSienaandGrossetoas part of the Grand Duchy towardsthemidsixteenthcentury) and Lucca.Animportantpart ofthat heritagewas also produced on behalf ofthe oligarchies andthe civic bodiesthat ownedextensive landedestatesandproperties. This considerable cartographic heritage, produced from the onwards for purposes of administrative and territorial control, can and must be known and valorised to support further archaeological, topographical, historicalterritorial and historicalgeographical research. In fact, historicalmapsrepresentaprecioussourceforgeographers,archaeologists,historicaltopographers, historiansofproductionandsettlementstructuresandmoregenerallyterritorialorganization,aswell asarchitectplanners,forestrangers,physicalgeographers,hydrologists,etc.Ingeneral,therepresen tations document the presence of artefacts or the remains of ancient or mediaeval artefacts often furnishedwiththeirrespectivetoponyms,usuallyforgotteninwholeorinpart:residentialandpro duction settlements, streets and canals or old river channels, parcels of land, caves or mines, ad ministeredlandsectionedoffbyvaryingdegrees,etc.The Imago Tusciae projectalsointendstohelp expose the original ways that historical cartography can contribute to knowing, protecting and valorisingourarchaeological,historicalarchitecturalandlandscapeheritage. ThemapsoftheSienaStateArchivescoveratimespanthatstretchesfromthefourteenthcenturyto the first half of the nineteenth century. The collections include chorographical and topographical images or partial largescale territorial maps; plans and views or single portions of builtup areas; architecturalandotherdrawings;commonorlandmapsandthematicorspecialmaps,withdelimited boundaries(bordersbetweenowners,administrativeborders,governmentborders);issuesregarding streetsandwater(hydrographicalstructures,mills,aqueductsandsprings,worksoflandreclamation, worksofregimeregulation,floodoccurrences);landholdings(predialor“ cabrei ”mapsanddetailed surveys, property index maps, plots of land for various uses, rural assets granted for various uses, reserves and customshouses); mines and factories; settlements and architectural developments (buildings,fortresses,monuments). Overall,therepresentationsofsouthernTuscanyconfirmwhatwealreadyknowfromtheliterature, i.e.,thatthebirthofmoderncartographyinTuscanyandinItalyinthefifteenthtosixteenthcenturies benefitedfrombothspatialsurveyingtechniques(withreferenceofcoursetoClaudiusPtolemyand Euclidean trigonometry) and pictorial techniques (which had been updated by the discovery and refinementofperspective;considertheimportanceofafiguresuchasLeonBattistaAlberti).Every so often maps relied on such EuclideanPtolemaic or landscapeperspectival language, often integratingtherespectiveapproachesinordertographicallyrendertheurbanandterritorialformsand contents of relatively large terrestrial spaces, such as hydromorphological structures; the intended agriculturalandforestalusesofsoil;settlementandinfrastructuralgrids;andpoliticaladministrative networks.Almostalways,atleastbeforethegeometricalcadastresandgeodeticsurveysrequestedby theLorrainefamilyduringtheeighteenthandnineteenthcenturies,thegeometriccultureincreasingly integrated itself with the pictorial one, albeit on a scale that varied according to the mapmaker (Rombai1993).

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Imago Tusciae willallowuserstomovefromthehistoryofcartographytothedocumentedhistoryof the region and the targeted geographical, naturalistic, historical and archaeologicaltopographical recognition of the present landscape through the use of cartography. In fact, proper knowledge of cartographyinevitablyentailsresolvingcomplexscientificproblemsaswellasissuessuchasdating, attribution,function,patronage,techniquesofconstructionandreproduction,andrelationshipswith stateandlocaladministratorsandthestrategiesandinterestsofprivatepatrons. Historical maps must be studied in relation to their politicalsocial and scientificcultural contexts. Wethereforeneedconsolidatedmultidisciplinaryskillsinordertounderstandtheterritory(initspast and present configurations) and continually integrate our sources with other kinds of documents (writings,archaeologicalevidence,landscapeenvironmentalsurveysoftheland,etc.),whichtaken ontheirownarenotenoughtoexplainthecomplexityoftheterritoryinitscontinualanddiversified evolutionfromareatoarea.

The application of Imago Tusciae : technical data and scientific contents

Imago Tusciae notonlyprovidesuserswithhighresolutionreproductionsofmapsbutalsothetools with which to study and reflect on them, such as informational files about the documents; lists of mapmakers with related biographical information; bibliographic references; lists of archival collectionsandatlaseswithdescriptionsofthemapstheycontain;andaninteractivechronologythat islocalisedonacontemporarymapofTuscany.

Figure2.Initialconsultationpage.Inadditiontoconductingafreesearch,userscanviewmapsfromsinglecollectionsor individualmapmakersviathemenu,ortheycanworkwithtoponymsandchronology.Thenumberofmapsinthedatabase,their provenanceandthenumberofmakersisautomaticallyupdatedanddisplayed. We prepared the mapcataloguing tool several times, starting with an extremely detailed data file, whichrequiredtoomuchtimetocompile,andendingwiththefilecurrentlybeingusedforrecording information,whichhasprovenfullyreliable.Itmustbespecifiedthatthedatafileweadoptedisthe

[5] e-Perimetron ,Vol.7,No.1,2012[115] www.eperimetron.org| ISSN17903769 result of research experiments from the 1980s, modelled after manual cataloguing systems or electronicprogrammeswrittenbyvariousresearchersworkingforsingleinstitutesofpreservationor for homogenous territorial contexts. We are referring here specifically to the work carried out or supervised by Margherita Azzari, Danilo Barsanti, Stefano Bertocci, Gabriele Ciampi, Claudio Greppi, Anna Guarducci, Marco Piccardi, Leonardo Rombai and Pietro Vichi, among others, in relationtothemapscollectedinthestatearchivesofFlorence,Siena,Lucca,PisaandGrosseto;the municipal archives of Florence, Fiesole and San Gimignano; and the territories of Prato, Fiesole, MonsummanoTerme,Empoli,and Grosseto.Thedescriptivefilessummarisetheformal characteristicsandterritorialcontentsofthemapsinanefforttodisplayasmuchoftheinformation they provide as possible through the characteristics of the drawing, the toponymy and the topographicalimage.

Figure3.ThelistofcollectionsintheSienaStateArchivesandtheirdescription.Onecanviewthefiledcollectionsforeach singlearchive.Whenasinglecollectionisselected,allthemapsthereinaredisplayedalongwiththeirrelatedfiles. Our point of departure for creating the web application was our evaluation of the “digitalised historicalmap”anditsimportanceasatestimonyofaterritory’spast.Theinitialbulkofinformation gatheredinanarchive,whichincludesthemapitself,asadigitalimagefile,andthemetadatainthe referencefile,wasconnectedwithotherentities–likethebiographiesofvariousmapmakersorthe archivalcollectionsinwhichthemapsarepreserved–accordingtoarelationalmodelmemorisedin

[6] e-Perimetron ,Vol.7,No.1,2012[115] www.eperimetron.org| ISSN17903769 the Database Management System (DBMS). The map became the central core of a data network whosecontents,whencombined,allownewknowledgetobeacquired.Thehistoricalmapwasalso connectedto geographicalreference coordinates,thusestablishing a dialogue betweentheregion’s pastandpresent.Thenextproblemwashowtoinsertthisknowledgenetworkintothelargernetwork oftheInternet.

Figure4.Whensearchingbytoponym,mapsaredisplayedonthebasisoftheportionoftheterritorytheyrepresent.Themapin questionisalsolocalisedoncurrentmapsusingthecentraltoponymandtherepresentationalscale. Another typical problem of complex web applications is how rapidly things go out of date, consideringthefrenziedpaceatwhichtechnologyevolvesinthisindustry.Inordertoremedythis veryrealdifficulty,whichisthebaneofmanysites,wetriedtoimplementastructurethatwasnot only modular but also “open”, based on opensource standards supported by solid communities aroundtheworldthatcanexchangedatawithotherpresentandfuturewebtechnologies.Theentire application was written in three languages that are widespread and represent open standards: JavaScript, PHP and SQL. A positive consequence of this choice is that we saved a great deal of moneybynothavingtobuysoftwarelicenses,moneythatwasreallocatedtowardshumanresources, whichinturnenhancethescientificvalueoftheapplication. SinceacontinuallyevolvingmodelisthecrucialfeatureoftheInternet,wedidnotdeveloptheweb sitebyfollowingareadymadeprojectbutratherbyusingseparatemodulesthataremodifiedona weeklybasisbytheassignedworkteamformedforsuchpurposeandmadeupofresearcherswith various skills. Indeed, the team members are of “mixed” technical and humanistic backgrounds: geographers, historical cartography experts and historians with knowledge of desktop publishing, computersorgraphicsandphotographyoradvancedspatialanalysis,allwithasolidhistoriographical range.Theresearcherswithhumanisticbackgroundhavetakenchargeofallthetasksasregardsthe ITaspectsoftheprojectandhavebeenabletodevelopthesoftwaretheyneededthankstothelow

[7] e-Perimetron ,Vol.7,No.1,2012[115] www.eperimetron.org| ISSN17903769 costsofthehardwareandtheconstantsupportoflargeglobalcommunitieswhofollowopensource softwareinsolvingparticularproblemsanddebugging.

Figure5.Searchbymapmaker.Takingintoaccountalltheinformationrelatedtothesinglemaps,theusercansearchvarious mapsdrawnbythesamemapmaker.Inthecaseofmoreimportantnames,amapmaker’sbiographycanalsobedisplayed. Thesewerethepremisesthatledtothe“structure”,i.e.organisationoftheworkbasedonthestages ofadvancementoftheapplication’svariousmodules.Eachmodulewasdevelopedbyanindividual team member, jointly verified through realtime Internet access at the server where the work in progressresidesandthendiscussedinweeklymeetings.Thisorganisational“structure”andtheteam members’commonengagementinhistoricalresearchtranslatedintoanalmosttransparenttransferof ideas,from theirformulationandapprovaltotheirrealisationintheapplication. Insofar asweare dealingwithanapplicationthatallowsanInternetnavigatortoconsultadatabankofhistoricalmaps (scannedatthearchivesconcerned)alongwiththeinformationrelatedtothem,thestructureofthe Imago Tusciae interfacetriestoprovideauserexperiencethatcloselyresemblesthatofascholarin thearchivesstandingbeforeatablefilledwithpiecesofnotepaper,variouskindsofdocumentsand newideassparkedbythecrossreferencingofsources.Thedesignoftheinterfacewasalsorefined usingresultsfromafocusgroupmadeupofvariouskindsofusers.

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Infact,wequicklyrecognisedtheneedtoplacethesinglemapatthecentreoftheuserinterfaceand to offer the related information in animated layers that stack onto the map itself. Taking ad vantageof“Web2.0”techniques,theapplicationdisregardedoldstylewebnavigationinwhich theusermovesbackandforthwithpagesoverlappingandhidingthepreviousones.Instead,the usercanviewallstepsofthesearchusingatabbednavigationthatcorrespondstofilescontaining varioustypesofrelatedinformation.Eachfilewasexpresslydesignedandoffersdifferentways toscrollthroughitscorrespondingdata. Wherepossible,theinformationfromthefilesisalso enrichedwithmaterialfromotherfilesorsourcesonthesamepublicationserverorontheweb. Users can add as many files as they like to their work area, which keeps a memory of their operations. Inadditiontothishorizontaltabnavigation,userscan alsoaccessinformationthat contextualisesthesinglemapusingverticaltabsthatopenanimatedribbons.Theseribbonsmay containagalleryofmapsthatrespondtothesearch;asyntheticdescriptionofthepieceofthe archive in question; a form to refine the search and organise the results differently; the map’s possibleplacementinanatlasandtheabilitytoleafthroughtheatlasitself;asectionofGoogle Maps showing the position of the historical map selected; and the possible presence in the archiveofotherhistoricalmapsofthesurroundingarea.

Figure6.Thechronologydisplayshowswhenthemapswereproducedandplacestheminrelationtoimportanteventsinthe historicevolutionofTuscany’spoliticaladministrativestructure. The application’s layout was also influenced by these structural choices so that the subject of the analysis– be itamapfromthepast,the biography ofa mapmaker,an atlastoleafthroughor an interactivechronologylocalisedonacontemporarymapofTuscany–isalwaysclearlypresentedto

[9] e-Perimetron ,Vol.7,No.1,2012[115] www.eperimetron.org| ISSN17903769 theuseratthecentreofthescreen.Theapplicationthereforeofferstoolswithwhichtostudyand reflectuponthedocumentsandpresentsitselfasameansforconsultingthedata.Italsoletsuserssee apreviewofthedocumentandcarryouttargetedresearch,includingcrossreferencingotherfields. Users can view the data in three different modes, depending on their needs: by individual file (includingalltheaforementionedfields),inminiatureandforprint. The“Chronology”file,builtbyadaptinganopensourcewidgetdevelopedatMIT,isofparticular interest. It displays a timeline in which the user can interactively scroll through various events relatingtoTuscany’spoliticalandinstitutionalhistorywhileatthesametimeverifyingthepresence inthearchiveoftestimoniesdocumentingthestateoftheterritory. Auser’sconsultationofthearchiveneverthelessstartswiththesimplesearchbox,modelledafterthe famousonebyGoogle,behindwhichapotentsearchengineisbeingdeveloped.Byreferringtoa thematicthesaurusofterms,the enginecaninterpretauser’s desiresto acertain extentaswellas offer dynamic suggestions to help the user better specify his or her search. In the future, Imago Tusciae ’s search engine will also supply multiple results organised according to a “geographical” ranking,i.e.thedistancefromtheplacethatbestcorrespondstotheuser’srequest. TheresultsofallthesearchescarriedoutinthevariousmodulesareprovidedinXML.Thismeans theapplicationcandialoguewithotherdatabanks hosted by otherweb sitesandstructurethedata accordingtointernationalthematicstandardsofgeographyorotherdisciplines. While the published site is the application’s front end, the system has a userfriendly back end, expresslydevelopedtobeequallyavailableontheweb,throughwhichqualifieduserscanmodifyall thedatabankrecordsandinsertnewinformationinrealtime. Onlinepublicationalsoallowsthecartographicdocumentsto bepreservedfromthewearandtear thatwouldinevitablyresultfromalltheconsultationsthatwouldotherwisebemadeontheoriginal materialitselfbythescholarsandinstitutionsinchargeofmanagingtheterritoryandthelandscape. Imago Tusciae wasalsodesignedtoexpandthenumberofarchiveusersbeyondthescholarlypublic. Infact,our proposalwasbasedontheideaofcreatingatoolthatstraddlesresearchandpublicity, scientific knowledge and a valorisation of the impressive cartographic heritage preserved in the archives, through a simple means that can be used by, and is accessible to, everyone. The visual approachandtheabundanceofeasilyaccessiblerelatedinformationaremeanttosparkcuriosityin the general user, even outside the narrow academic circle of historic cartography, without relinquishingthescientificrigouroftheapplicationinanyway.Themodularstructureofboththe applicationandthedatamodelthatformsitsskeletonalsolendthemselvestohostingotherdigitalised archival documents, with very little adjustment required. Imago Tusciae is therefore a genuine knowledgesystemthatisfullypreparedtogatherandimplementnewontologiesofhistoricalsources.

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Figure7.Exampleofafile.Thefirstsectionprovidesaminiature,whichletsusersviewthemapinsidealightbox,inadditionto themap’smainattributes(dating,maker,scale,technique,etc.);thesecondsectiondisplaysthemap’sarchivalcontext;andthe thirdsectionprovidesabriefdescriptionandrelatedbibliography.Thenamesoftheindividualswhocompiledthefileandthe dateitwascataloguedarealsorecorded.

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Figure8.Searchresultsgallery.Afterasearch,eitherfreeorviathemenu,theresultsofeachqueryaredisplayedinminiature alongwithabriefdescriptionandthedateeachmapwasproduced.Thisdataislocatedinatabthatcanbeclosedatanymoment toviewthemapbelow.

Figure9.Whenviewingthemaps,userscanzoominusingthemouserollerortherelevantbarabovetoappreciatethehigh resolutionqualityofthedigitalreproductions.Atthesametime,theycanalsomovethezoomedindetailsimplybymovingthe cursorinsidethesquare.Thecopyrightofthemapsisrespectedbymakingitimpossibleforuserstodownloadthehigh resolutionversion.

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Ourmaingoalnowistorefinetheprojectevenmoresothatitcanbeusednotjustforconsultation, butalsoforthe“production”ofknowledge.Inotherwords,wewishtocreatean“intelligent”search engine that can increasingly satisfy the needs of all kinds of users and supply a range of answers organisedaccordingtorelevance,startingfromthoseclosesttotheuser’srequests.Weobviously havetoconsidertherelationshipbetweenmapsandterritorywhentalkingaboutcartography;we thereforeintendtousegeographicalproximityasoneofourcriteria.Sincewearedealingwitha database that is centred on spatial/territorial representations, we feel we must aim to provide answersorganisedaccordingtoageographicaltopographicalcriterionandtoofferthepossibility ofpresentingmapsthatareorganisedtopographically.Thiscanalsobedonebyusingtheplace namesinsinglemaps,notsomuchtogeoreferencethemwithintheterritory(whichissometimes impossible given the nongeometric nature of many maps) but rather to show their “areas of interest”oncurrentmapsusingtheGoogleMapsinterface.

Figure10.Exampleofthe“notes”tabrelatedtothedisplayedmap. Thisdescribesthevariousaspectsofthemapanditscontextinadiscursiveway. The answers will then reach the user as a true “gallery” of miniatures, furnished with essential information, rather than a simple list of titles. The user can therefore see the results of the search immediatelyandexplicitlywhileatthesametimeappreciatingthestyleofthemapsthemselves.The imagesinthegalleryareorganised bydefault on thecollectionorthearchiveandthe progressive

[13] e-Perimetron ,Vol.7,No.1,2012[115] www.eperimetron.org| ISSN17903769 numberingtherein,buttheycanalsobeorganisedaccordingtoothercriteriathattakeintoaccount aspectslike,forexample,chronologyortherepresentativescale.

Figure11.Anexampleofan“atlas”,i.e.auniform,oftenbound,collectionofmaps.Ifamapbelongstoanatlas,atabappears automaticallyontherighthandsideofthesquaresothatuserscannavigatethroughallthefoliosorpagesofthevolume.

References

Barsanti,D.,BonelliConennaL.andRombaiL.(2001).Lecartedelgranduca.Ladei Lorenaattraversolacartografi.ComunediGrosseto:Tipolito. Francovich, R. (1976). Materiali per una storia della cartografia toscana: la vita e l’opera di FerdinandoMorozzi,1723178. Ricerche storiche 6:445512. Guarducci,A.(2006).Historicalcartographyandlandscape:culturalheritageofTuscany(Italy). In M.Bini,S.Bertocci andS. Mecca, Documentation for conservation and development. New heritage strategy for the future. 11th International Seminar (“Forum UNESCO/University and Heritage”, Firenze, 11-15 settembre 2006). Firenze:UniversityPress:163. Guarducci, A. (ed.) (2006). Mappe e potere. Pubbliche istituzioni e cartografia nella Toscana modernaecontemporanea(secoliXVIXIX). Trame nello spazio. Quaderni di geografia storica

[14] e-Perimetron ,Vol.7,No.1,2012[115] www.eperimetron.org| ISSN17903769 e quantitativa. 2. Firenze:All'InsegnadelGiglio. Guarducci,A.(2008).Cartografieeriforme.FerdinandoMorozzieIdocumentidell'Archiviodi StatodiSiena.Firenze:All'InsegnadelGiglio. Guarducci,A.andGreppi,C.(2008).Cartografiaepaesaggistorici.L'attivitàdelLaboratoriodi Geografia del Dipartimento di Storia dell'Università di Siena. In C. Masetti (eds), Atti del 1° Seminario “Dalla mappa al GIS” .Genova:Brigati:215229. Rombai,L.(eds)(1993).ImagoetdescriptioTusciae.LaToscananellageocartografiadalXVal XIXsecolo.Venezia:Marsilio. Rombai,L.(2010a).Leproblematicherelativeall’usodellacartografiastorica. Bollettino della Associazione Italiana di Cartografia. 138:6989. Rombai,L.(2010b).Conservatorie,corpicartograficiericercapaesisticoterritoriale:riflessioni intorno al caso toscano. In M. Carta and L. Spagnoli (eds), La ricerca e le istituzioni tra interpretazione e valorizzazione della documentazione cartografica. Roma: Gangemi Editore: 6581. Tramacere, G. (2003). Documenti cartografici conservati nell’Archivio di Stato di Siena. Una prima rassegna. Trame nello spazio. Quaderni di geografia storica e quantitativa. 1. Firenze: All’InsegnadelGiglio. Vichi,P.(1990).Geocartemanoscritteeastampanell’ArchiviodiStatodiSiena:ilfondodei QuattroConservatori.Siena:DipartimentodiStoriadell'Università.

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