Habsburg topographic cartography of the Italian peninsula in the first half of the 19th century

The geodetic point lists of the Habsburg survey of the Italian peninsula, carried out in several steps after the Napoleonic wars, were digitized and analyzed together with the modern coordinates of the identified points. Assuming the usage of the Zach-Oriani hybrid ellipsoid, the Burša-Wolf type datum transformation parameters were estimated between the local, historical triangulation Datums and the WGS84. The results show interesting accuracy differences in the Italian regions; since the points and coordinates in Lombardy, Piedmont and Lucca shows surprisingly high accuracy and consistency, the survey of Venice, Tuscany, the Papal State, the Adriatic coasts and the Kingdom of Naples is less controlled. The results enabled us to geo-refer the corresponding map series, stored in the Austrian Military Archives, in Vienna, in four different parts. Venice, Lombardy and Lucca (with other small regions at their southern border) were a part of the Habsburg Second Military Survey, with same scale and technology and legend. Part of the series of Piedmont was also found in the Vienna archives and geo-referred. South of these regions, Tuscany and the Papal State was mapped in 1:86400 scale, in a Cassini projection with the centre in the Duomo S. Salvatore, Milan. The southernmost systematic mapping work in the peninsula was in the Kingdom of Naples in the 1820s, with the same scale as used in mid-Italy, projection centre was in Capodimonte (Naples). Albeit the relatively high accuracy of the geodetic network, these map mosaics are refined horizontally applying a local correction grid (GSB) to keep the horizontal errors below 200 meters

Habsburg topographic cartography of the Italian peninsula in the first half of the 19th century

The geodetic point lists of the Habsburg survey of the Italian peninsula, carried out in several steps after the Napoleonic wars, were digitized and analyzed together with the modern coordinates of the identified points. Assuming the usage of the Zach-Oriani hybrid ellipsoid, the Burša-Wolf type datum transformation parameters were estimated between the local, historical triangulation Datums and the WGS84. The results show interesting accuracy differences in the Italian regions; since the points and coordinates in Lombardy, Piedmont and Lucca shows surprisingly high accuracy and consistency, the survey of Venice, Tuscany, the Papal State, the Adriatic coasts and the Kingdom of Naples is less controlled. The results enabled us to georefer the corresponding map series, stored in the Austrian Military Archives, in Vienna, in four different parts. Venice, Lombardy and Lucca (with other small regions at their southern border) were a part of the Habsburg Second Military Survey, with same scale and technology and legend. Part of the series of Piedmont was also found in the Vienna archives and geo-referred. South of these regions, Tuscany and the Papal State was mapped in 1:86400 scale, in a Cassini projection with the centre in the Duomo S. Salvatore, Milan. The southernmost systematic mapping work in the peninsula was in the Kingdom of Naples in the 1820s, with the same scale as used in mid-Italy, projection centre was in Capodimonte (Naples). Albeit the relatively high accuracy of the geodetic network, these map mosaics are refined horizontally applying a local correction grid (GSB) to keep the horizontal errors below 200 meters