Memory in names. Toponyms in historical cadastres for the analysis of the religious presence in the walled city

Abstract

The study of historical toponyms can be considered a field of research limited to historiography. However, if transposed as an iconographic layer on the representation of the current city by the means of interactive digital navigation, it can return interesting results for both historical knowledge, and cultural and tourist disclosure. The paper presents as case study a research about the analysis of the present and past existence of churches, convents and religious buildings in the historic centre of the city of Parma. The georeferenced planimetry drawn on the basis of historical cadastre has been imported into an online geolocated app, to be explored in real time to discover hidden aspects as a touristic serious game, but also for the scientific study of city transformation over time.