Intangible urban landscapes – Cartography
During the Middle Ages, the construction of a monastery within the city generated urban dynamics around it which have become fossilized and are identifiable on the current urban plot through cartographic analysis techniques (GIS). Our project has studied the impact of spirituality centres on the urban development of some relevant cities (Barcelona, Naples, Benevento), being capable of detecting the existence of specific implantation models (inside or outside the walls, near of far of the gates or communication routes). All this has allowed us to advance in the knowledge of the role that monasteries and monastic assets played in the construction of the medieval city.
This research has been developed based on a model data sheet for the historical information designed by us (figure 1), that allows to not only store data, but georeferenced the with geographical coordinates. These geolocations allow to GIS represent the information set on digital cartographic bases (figure 2). The resulting maps out of this process (figure 3 and 4) are true tools of knowledge aout the impact of the monastic implantation inside the city.
Based on the work methodology that we have just described, the project has allowed us to analyse the progressive implantation of female and male monasteries in the city of Naples (figure 3) and assess their impact on the whole space inside the walls (Bertini, Colesanti, Soler, 2020).
Besides that, a capbreu from the early fifteenth century has allowed us to analyse the role of the female monastery of Sant Pere de les Puel·les in the construction of the so-called “Quarter de Sant Pere” in Barcelona. The maps resulting from this work (figure 4) have allowed us to know the heritage management strategies developed by this monastery within the city (Lluch, Soler, in press).
All these examples highlight the interest of digital cartography and GIS in the study of monastic implantation inside the medieval urban space.
Bibliography
Bertini, Antonio; Colesanti, Gemma T.; Soler, Maria (2020): “La rete monastica nel tessuto urbano di Napoli (secc. XII-XVI)”, SVMMA. Revista de Cultures Medievals, 15, pp. 55-73.
Lluch, Rosa; Soler, Maria (en prensa): “Patrimonio monástico y construcción del paisaje urbano: los bienes de Sant Pere de les Puel·les en la Barcelona bajomedieval”, El uso social del espacio en las ciudades europees de la Baja Edad Media. XVIII Encuentros Internacionales del Medievo. Nájera, Universidad de Cantabria.
Soler, Maria (2022): “Mapeando el paisaje espiritual: documentación, arqueologia y territorio en el estudio de los monasterios ibéricos”, Architectures of the Soul. Diachronic and multidisciplinary readings, Lisboa, Instituto de Estudos Medievais, Centro de Estudos de História Religiosa, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, pp. 87-92.