Waters, forests, lands: the struggle for environmental resources and the production of maps in the XVIII-XIX Centuries. Case studies in Liguria, Trentino and Tuscany (Italy)

The role of historical cartography in the documentation of historical and environmental contexts, as well as in their governance are by now universally recognized. At the same time maps, as any other historical source, needs to be interpreted critically; according to the Italian micro-history school, historical documents are the result of social actors strategies to legitimize their jurisdictional and economical rights. Grounding on this proposition, the poster presents the analysis of some historical cartographies from three case studies in Italy: 19th maps of commons right on forest (Trentino), 18th c. plans of historical aqueduct (Liguria) and 19th c. ancient cadastre of local communities for marble quarries (Tuscany). Despite their different nature, chronology and context, all of them were produced as consequence of conflicts on resources. The analyses aims to bring new light on the production processes of the maps, their uses over time and the quality and nature of data inscribed in them, paying specific attention to their juridical value. Documents has been interpreted with a critical approach, grounded on a comparison with other sources and the reconstruction of their production context. The first results of studies shows the potentials offered by historical cartographies as “complex documents”, which offer integrated information both on the history of environmental resources and past landscapes, and on social actors strategies to control resources. Moreover, they stresses the value of historical maps for ethical planning policies, which safeguard and improve local landscape features grounding on the individuation and interpretation of local historical peculiarities.