Musica e Historical GIS: la ricerca attraverso ArtMus e MML

The spatialization of historical data through georeferencing software has given rise to what are now known as Historical GIS, interdisciplinary proj- ects that integrate Geographic Information Systems (GIS) with historical research. Over the past decade, the use of GIS in historical musicology has become increasingly significant, transforming mapping from a mere rep- resentational tool into a hermeneutic resource capable of opening new re- search perspectives. This study examines the impact of Historical GIS on musicological research, with a particular focus on the ArtMus (Articoli mu- sicali nei quotidiani dell’Ottocento in Italia – PRIN 2012) and MML (Map- ping Music Life: Urban Culture and the Local Press in Post-Unification Italy – PRIN 2017) databases. Developed in different periods but now intercon- nected, these two projects utilize nineteenth-century newspapers and his- torical cartographies to investigate the interactions between musical life and urban space in post-unification Italy. This contribution aims to illustrate the potential of cartographic processing of historical sources, highlighting its applications across various fields, including cultural heritage preserva- tion, research, pedagogy, and public history.