Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
documents are kept today in the Venice National Archive (ASVe), and two of them (F and L
maps) have been examined on site. The original documents are drawn on several watercolor
papers stuck on canvas supports. For the aim of the present study, digital copies of the
originals, made by ASVe, were used: high resolution (300-400 dpi) copies were derived from
high quality scanning (F and L maps), and a lower quality copy was derived from
digitization of photographic images (P map), the original paper support being afflicted by
wear problems. No images may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without
permission of the Venice National Archive; it is necessary to apply to the Photo-
reproduction Section of the Venice State Archive in order to obtain the release of copies.
Granted for these reproductions: n. 81/2010.
A further fundamental tool of analysis was the topic edited by the main author, Fabri,
containing the description of the so called
squadra zoppa
(or
squadra mobile
, i.e. mobile
square), a new topographical instrument probably invented and used by Fabri himself
(Panepinto, 2009). That instrument was useful for performing every type of topographic
measurement (i.e. heights, distances, depths) in urban and land surveying, and also for map
drawing (reporting the measurements on the paper). Surprisingly, the handbook seems to
be a powerful record of the author's whole technical experience originated by the surveying
operations performed in the geographical areas depicted in the maps here studied (Figure
2). A copy of the topic, today preserved at the
Dore
Library of the Engineering Faculty of the
University of Bologna, has been examined on site (Fabri 1673).
3. The reasons of the choice and the previous studies
Even if the above mentioned existence of a textbook probably related to the chosen maps
would not be taken into account, other strong motivations appear to exist to focus our
analysis on those cartographic samples.
As these maps were made during the very short period between the years 1592 and 1599, i.e.
the lapse of time immediately forerunning a series of very important works aiming at the Po
river channel diversion, they stimulate a compelling geomorphological analysis (Cremonini
2007a; Cremonini & Samonati 2009) focused on the easternmost peripheral areas that today
no longer exist, due to erosional dynamics of seashore evolution developed during the last
four centuries (Cremonini 2007b; Cremonini 2010). A further problem arises, due to the fact
that the maps depict in a quite different manner the same landforms, although they appear
to have been drawn in the same years by the same author or co-author (Ottavio Fabri). For
these reasons the maps have already been studied from various viewpoints and metrically
analysed in a digital environment (Bitelli et al. 2009, 2010), to try to overcome the merely
qualitative comparison between the available maps.
Although the modern digital techniques, in particular georeferencing of the cartographic
samples coupled with a study of the map deformations, help in metric analysis of ancient
cartography, in pre-geodetic cartography studies specific analytical tools need to be used,
e.g. in the step-by-step solution here proposed.
