Historical Cartography and Landscape Planning: An approach to be Developed

Abstract

In Tuscany, urban planning has, for many years now, been strictly related to landscape planning. All of the levels of general planning are currently undergoing a process of compliance related to the landscape discipline enacted by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage. In this process of compliance,  there is no reference to the study of historical cartography, or even to the sedimented elements that are linked to the slow or very fast landscape transformation caused by the most recent human activities. It can be safely affirmed that historical cartography is a typical tool of the historian, who makes use of ancient cartography  in conjunction with written documentation. However, should it be considered necessary also for those involved in territorial and landscape planning to understand and account for the concerns expressed by each community about their landscape? The focus of this discussion is the experience of the territorial and landscape planning of Manciano (Grosseto), a municipality in Tuscany. The specific objective of this discussion is to evaluate the extent to which the use of archival sources and historical cartography impacts the framing of the issue of the landscape consistencies of the individual parts of the territory.