Digital Reprocessing of Historical Cartography Through Historiographic Analysis of Sites

Abstract

There can be many places of excellence in an urban space, vital places in the city, such as squares. Telling their story also means defining a possible narrative of a site that, since ancient times, has represented the crossroads of functions, events, and human flows: a moment in the city's history, the fulcrum and soul of the cultural identity of an urban layout. But it is also the site where significant architecture is concentrated, both sacred and civil, churches or palaces, which emblematically with their evolution constitute a tangible sign of historical stratification. Starting from a historiographical and documentary study, the present work aims at accurately redrawing historical cartography based on contemporary maps to provide useful tools for the physical, political, and thematic analysis of the investigated areas. The methodology developed is based on the identification of those architectural and urban elements that have not undergone substantial changes over the centuries, presenting themselves as ideal references for redesign operations.