Scan to GIS Methodologies for the Multi-Scalar Representation of Water Landscapes

Abstract

This paper outlines a research methodology for the digital representation of amphibious landscapes in the Po Valley. The management of water resources has accompanied the history of settlement systems in northern Italy since the earliest times. Canalisation and hydraulic elements have transformed the appearance of the territory, qualifying the image and identity of different cultures. In the Ticino region, the system of irrigation infrastructure originated with Roman plain drainage and reached a more organic systemisation through the studies of Leonardo da Vinci. This cultural dimension plays a central role in defining the identity of the territory, characterised by a rich natural environment and a substantial hydraulic heritage which, abandoned following industrialisation, now requires recovery and safeguarding. To represent this complexity, the drawer must transform the complexity of relationships into an ordered network of signs. For this reason, the research proposes a step-by-step methodology, progressing from integrated survey to mesh-nurbs modelling, followed by an expeditious census, and culminating in a 3D GIS environment. This multiscalar model constitutes a unique dynamic organism in which geometries are associated with specific datasets. Through the use of 3D GIS, the research aims to facilitate knowledge of the landscape and support its management by making explicit the relationships between elements and by defining new strategies to raise awareness of the water heritage.