I catasti e la storia dei luoghi

Cadastres and the history of places Any project for historical contexts - both in university design studios and in real projects regarding existing structures and sites - must be accompanied by the informed study of their urban and landscape history. Achieving this goal is not only important for regenerating the memory of places but it is extraordinarily timely in relation to today’s need to reuse and recover historic heritage in keeping with its original characteristics. Historic land registers are fundamentally important sources for knowledge in the study of any urban, landscape and architectural context. The consultation of these registers, along with archival and map documentation, create an opportunity to embark upon reconstructive actions whose outcomes can be of fundamental utility and can often suggest new interpretations previously veiled by time. The exploration of the historic scenarios of the evolution of places - through computerized aerial survey maps and other maps, archival documents, readings of historical and design processes - is indeed a stimulating historiographic adventure that can help us confront research outcomes with data deriving from a variety of sources. Based on a consolidated tradition of historic study, new experiments can enrich basic data with surveys and documents both on the architectural scale as well as by means of three-dimensional modeling. The interpretations and ensuing production of the reconstruction plans of different historical structures over time based on reliable comparison of cadastral and map data can contribute to criticism and research on the city and the landscape. In other forms, the production of interactive media and teaching aides fosters the communication of the cultural values of the places in which historians, archaeologists and architects conduct their daily work. This research aims to renew scientific attention on methods for the analysis of places and their historic evolution. In our era, the major urban transformations of the city and territory correspond to a growing need for increasing awareness and knowledge. Dwellings, monuments, urban areas, squares or landscapes are all imbued with great historic value from which today’s contexts descend. The study of their meaning lies at the heart of any serious program for cultural action, aimed at their recovery and reuse or their preservation