ISPRS-Annals ISPRS Annals of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences ISPRS-Annals ISPRS Ann. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci. 2194-9050 Copernicus Publications Göttingen, Germany 10.5194/isprsannals-I-4-287-2012 VALORISATION OF COMO HISTORICAL CADASTRAL MAPS THROUGH MODERN WEB GEOSERVICES Brovelli M. A. 1 Minghini M. 1 Zamboni G. 1 DIIAR, Politecnico di Milano, Como Campus, via Valleggio 11, 22100 Como, Italy 20 07 2012 I-4 287 292 Copyright: © 2012 M. A. Brovelli et al. 2012 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ This article is available from https://isprs-annals.copernicus.org/articles/I-4/287/2012/isprs-annals-I-4-287-2012.html The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://isprs-annals.copernicus.org/articles/I-4/287/2012/isprs-annals-I-4-287-2012.pdf

Cartographic cultural heritage preserved in worldwide archives is often stored in the original paper version only, thus restricting both the chances of utilization and the range of possible users. The Web C.A.R.T.E. system addressed this issue with regard to the precious cadastral maps preserved at the State Archive of Como. Aim of the project was to improve the visibility and accessibility of this heritage using the latest free and open source tools for processing, cataloguing and web publishing the maps. The resulting architecture should therefore assist the State Archive of Como in managing its cartographic contents. After a pre-processing consisting of digitization and georeferencing steps, maps were provided with metadata, compiled according to the current Italian standards and managed through an ad hoc version of the GeoNetwork Opensource geocatalog software. A dedicated MapFish-based webGIS client, with an optimized version also for mobile platforms, was built for maps publication and 2D navigation. A module for 3D visualization of cadastral maps was finally developed using the NASA World Wind Virtual Globe. Thanks to a temporal slidebar, time was also included in the system producing a 4D Graphical User Interface. The overall architecture was totally built with free and open source software and allows a direct and intuitive consultation of historical maps. Besides the notable advantage of keeping original paper maps intact, the system greatly simplifies the work of the State Archive of Como common users and together widens the same range of users thanks to the modernization of map consultation tools.