LDL (Landscape Digital Library) : A Digital Photographic Database of a Case Study Area in the River Po Valley, Northern Italy

Landscapes are both a synthesis and an expression of national, regional and local cultural heritages. It is therefore very important to develop techniques aimed at cataloguing and archiving their forms. This paper discusses the LDL (Landscape Digital Library) project, a Web accessible database that can present the landscapes of a territory with documentary evidence in a new format and from a new perspective. The method was tested in a case study area of the river Po valley (Northern Italy). The LDL is based on a collection of photographs taken following a systematic grid of survey points identified through topographic cartography; the camera level is that of the human eye. This methodology leads to an innovative landscape archive that differs from surveys carried out through aerial photographs or campaigns aimed at selecting "relevant" points of interest. Further developments and possible uses of the LDL are also discussed

Luoghi, territori e paesaggi del teatro: per un approccio geografico al rapporto fra azione teatrale e dimensione spaziale

Il teatro si svolge nella concreta dimensione territoriale. Dal territorio parte e ad esso ritorna, in unmovimento circolare che vede da una parte le opportunità e le limitazioni imposte dai luoghi in cui sisceglie di mettere in scena le rappresentazioni teatrali e dall’altra gli esiti che esse producono nellapercezione sociale dei luoghi. Il legame fra il teatro e i luoghi viene declinato nel presente saggioattraverso riflessioni relative alla localizzazione, alla dialettica spazi chiusi/spazi aperti, al rapporto fradimensione spaziale e dimensione temporale. In seguito si propongono alcuni spunti dedicati alrapporto che il teatro intrattiene con la dimensione paesaggistica. Paesaggio e teatro, comesottolineato insieme da studiosi di storia del teatro (Cruciani, Serino) e da geografi (Turri) possiedonodiverse caratteristiche in comune. In conclusione, si accenna alle potenziali valenze di educazioneterritoriale che le pratiche teatrali possono offrire

THE RIVER AND ITS MAP. THE MAP AS NARRATIVE ORDER IN CLAUDIO MAGRIS’ DANUBE

Il volume Danubio di Claudio Magris (1986) rappresenta un elegante esempio di scrittura ad alto “gradiente geografico”. La narrazione è infatti strutturata su un asse ordinatore di natura spaziale, che procede dalle sorgenti, lungo i circa 2.850 km di sviluppo del fiume, fino alle foci. La “funzione cartografica” di ispirazione della scrittura appare di primaria importanza per il consolidamento della struttura compositiva dell’opera. Il saggio si propone, attraverso i suggerimenti teorici proposti da Tom Conley e da Christian Jacob, di indagare questa funzione, focalizzandosi principalmente su due specifici aspetti: il criterio cartografico nell’organizzazione dell’indice del volume e l’apparizione dell’oggetto “carta geografica” nel flusso narrativo (con le correlate questioni legate al rapporto fra realtà territoriale e rappresentazione cartografica, alla mappa come tentativo di “esaurire” un luogo, al valore simbolico della carta geografica).Danubio, by Claudio Magris (1986) represents an elegant example of a “highly geographical” typology of writing. Its narrative structure is, in fact, based on a spatial axis, which gives its order to the description of the 2,850 km course of the river, starting from the springs and ending at the mouth of the river. The essay, based on the theoretical perspectives offered by Tom Conley and Christian Jacob, investigates this “cartographic function” in the narration, focusing mainly on two specific topics: the cartographic criterion in the structuring of the book index and the appearance of geographical maps in the narration (with related issues such as the relationship between the territory and its cartographic representation, the map as an attempt to “exhaust” a place, the symbolic value of cartography)

La mappa mentale del boscaiolo. Note su un’illuminazione cartografica di Cesare Zavattini

Nel 1953 Cesare Zavattini compie un curioso – e fecondo – “esperimento territoriale”: porta a Luzzara, nella sua “mitologica” patria della bassa reggiana, il fotografo americano Paul Strand. L’idea è quella di mettere in contatto – nella non tanto segreta speranza di un cortocircuito conoscitivo – lo sguardo sapiente, ma inevitabilmente da outsider, del grande fotografo, e la terra che Zavattini continuerà a cantare, attraverso una appassionata quanto creativa thick description, per tutta la vita

THE CONTEMPORARY OFFER OF PAPER CARTHOGRAPHY FOR TOURISTS: THE CASE OF THE TOWN OF PARMA

La cartografia turistica rappresenta un interessante repertorio per la verifica dell’efficacia comunicativa dello strumento cartografico. Al centro di una complessa dialettica fra le esigenze del committente, quelle del produttore e quelle dell’utente, una carta turistica è chiamata ad un difficile equilibrio fra completezza informativa ed efficacia comunicativa. L’articolo analizza il caso della produzione cartografica turistica dell’ultimo ventennio nel contesto di una città di medie dimensioni, Parma, che fonda la propia appetibilità turistica soprattutto sulla dotazione artistico-monumentale. Attraverso uno spoglio comparativo di 26 carte turistiche, gli autori propongono un’analisi dei punti forti e dei punti deboli della cartografia in questione. In fase di conclusione, vengono inoltre proposti alcuni suggerimenti operativi per la messa a fuoco di un’efficace cartografia turistica per un centro urbano.Tourism cartography represents an interesting repertory to investigate the communicative power of a map. A tourism map is, in fact, at the center of a complex web, between the needs of its sponsor, those of its producer and those of its reader. This specific kind of cartography must be able to convey a complete set of information and, at the same time, be simply readable. The article takes into consideration the tourism cartography produced during the last twenty years for a mediumsized town, Parma, whose tourist appeal is based on the monuments of the historical downtown. Through the analysis of 26 different tourism maps of the town of Parma, the authors offer a critical exam of both the strengths and the weaknesses of this special kind of cartography. Last, the authors suggest some strategies to improve tourism maps portraying an urban downtown

LDL (Landscape Digital Library) : A Digital Photographic Database of a Case Study Area in the River Po Valley, Northern Italy

Landscapes are both a synthesis and an expression of national, regional and local cultural heritages. It is therefore very important to develop techniques aimed at cataloguing and archiving their forms. This paper discusses the LDL (Landscape Digital Library) project, a Web accessible database that can present the landscapes of a territory with documentary evidence in a new format and from a new perspective. The method was tested in a case study area of the river Po valley (Northern Italy). The LDL is based on a collection of photographs taken following a systematic grid of survey points identified through topographic cartography; the camera level is that of the human eye. This methodology leads to an innovative landscape archive that differs from surveys carried out through aerial photographs or campaigns aimed at selecting "relevant" points of interest. Further developments and possible uses of the LDL are also discussed

The weak ring of the chain : Immigrants facing the economic crisis in Italy

The article offers a synthetic overview of the main effects that the international economic crisis has had on immigrants in Italy. After a brief introductory explanation of the main characteristics of the Italian context of immigration, the authors concentrate on two main problems : the immigrants’ access to the labour market and to the housing system. The so-called “social vulnerability” of migrants was increased by the tensions related to the economic crisis. The growing problems that immigrants have been facing in the last three years are linked to the territorial distribution and to the mobility of the migrant communities on the national territory. The tendency to a progressive redistribution of the migratory destinations and to an increased mobility within and outside the Italian national borders are among the consequences of the socio-economic difficulties suffered by migrants. Finally, a few conclusive remarks suggest some policy recommendations.L’article offre une vue d’ensemble synthétique des effets principaux que la crise économique internationale a eus sur les immigrés en Italie. Après une brève explication des caractéristiques principales du contexte italien de l’immigration, les auteurs se concentrent sur deux problèmes principaux : l’accès des immigrés au marché du travail et au système de logement. La “vulnérabilité sociale” des migrants a été augmentée par les tensions liées à la crise économique. Les problèmes croissants que les immigrés ont rencontrés ces trois dernières années sont alors liés à la distribution territoriale et à la mobilité des communautés migratrices sur le territoire national. La tendance à une redistribution progressive des destinations migratrices et à une mobilité accrue dans et en dehors des frontières nationales italiennes sont parmi les conséquences des difficultés socio-économiques souffertes par les migrants. En conclusion, quelques remarques suggèrent une série de recommandations de politique