2.NEW DATASETS AND FURTHER ANALYSES 
The integration of new datasets hasn't been so hard, because of 
the adaptable organizations highly regarded during the first 
planning. 
Even the chance for users to choose their own queries or 
comparisons is still alive. The basic structure of the relational 
database, founded upon a triple core, is still kept: each datum 
regarding a studied object is linked to: 1. a geospatial 
reference 2. dating (time and chronological dimension is very 
important in historical and archaeological studies) 3. source 
(documentary ones or recently published works, because it 
ensure the effective existence of datum). 
Last year, humanistic studies collected information mainly 
about fortified, ecclesiastical and settlement structures; they 
even started to search for comunications routes, toll roads and 
mining sites. At present, much more kinds of structures have 
been investigated and catalogued: use of soil, examinig whether 
they were wild or cultivated and what kind of farming was used, 
hydrological networks and their exploitation, quarries and their 
relationships with the ways of employment in buildings or how 
stony materials were moved from extraction places. Another 
type of objects involved and joined to the others among the 
database, are those sites of transformation of row materials such 
as water-mills or any kind of forges. 
For almost everyone of these structures is extremely difficult to 
find out the geospatial location: we keep very precise details 
about many informations but we are not able to georeferencing 
them by points on cartographic maps. We can only guess the 
area where they were probably located. 
Presently, the main aim is to single out the approssimative 
shape and extension of regions mentioned above. The 
researchers' interest is not in visualising geometric and abstract 
areas such as circles; the expectation that exchanging data and 
GIS analyses enable to spot places where the probability of 
location is higher than elsewhere. So, next step consist in the 
construction of a model, built up with the caracters requested 
for a specific structure, and than, using spatial anlyses that GIS 
can manage; the system then, compares data and is able to 
choose what region match better with queries. 
This is the reason why a very large chance of temathic basis is 
needed. The comparisons have to be applied considering the 
richness that different points of view can provide. It mean that is 
useful to overlay information (spatial and heterogeneous ones) 
coming from different fields of study working on the field; the 
basic criterium heading every next procedure consists in using 
only one cartografic representation system. 
3. SELECTED AREA FOR MASTERING 
The selected area is the valley where the river-head of the most 
important river of North Italy is placed. It's Po valley and GIS 
queries informed us that the existance of ancient structures was 
particularly rich downhill. It's not a simply coincidence that just 
there, one of the main monasteries of the whole Marchesato di 
Saluzzo was settled (the Marchesato di Saluzzo is the territory 
chosen as the large studying area). Informations about the new 
structures counted in the latest census, and than catalogued in 
the database, have been extracted from a particular collection 
of documents, called Cartario, that monasteries used to manage 
their influence area. This kind of collections are extremely 
important to understand how strong was the control of the 
ecclesiastic structure on the land and on people. These papers 
are about deeds of gift, sales contracts or other kind of 
agreements, so, examining them, we can outline the balance of 
powers in the area. 
The monastery of Rifreddo is placed near to the mouth of Po 
Valley: moreover it has been known that in the higher part of 
the valley there were mines, and lower, the area is rich of 
quarries. Considering this simple information it's clear what are 
the aims of the relationships between historical and 
archaeological studies and geology or Botany. It thus necessary 
to verify and furtherly discover how powerful could be a GIS 
application, planned with new surveing tecniques, to reconstract 
a non existing anymore situation. 
Next pictures with their captions have the purpose to explain 
some application samples. 
  
Fig. 1 — The selected area: Po Valley. The 
picture shows a small set of topografic 
layers provided by Piedmont Region. This 
kind of simplified map, since it’s vectorial, 
is very useful to manage particular spatial 
analyses aimed to compare objects 
concerning the medioeval scenery and 
idrology, built-up areas etc. 
  
  
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