The document summarizes a public history project called the Val di Vara Project that created a website called TraMonti to share the cultural heritage of the Val di Vara region. The project involved teams of historians, archaeologists, GIS experts, and videographers collaborating with local municipalities and universities. It utilized open source mapping and social media tools. However, the project faced challenges engaging older residents and a lack of web infrastructure in the region limited participation. While the project aimed to involve the community, it may have unintentionally increased a technological gap between historians and those less familiar with digital tools.

1. Public History and Memory
on the Web:
the Val di Vara case
Enrica Salvatori - University of Pisa
DHLU Symposium 2012 - Websites as sources
mercoledì 21 marzo 12

2. The Val di Vara Project: TraMonti (between
mountains and sunsets)
Changes in the Project: the flood
Thoughts about Public History and the Web
mercoledì 21 marzo 12

3. PROGETTO
DATA CLIENTE
DATA NOME
mercoledì 21 marzo 12

4. A “public history” project
140.000 €
MUNICIPALITIES UNIVERSITY
TEAM 1 TEAM 2 TEAM 3 TEAM 4 WEB MANAGER
HISTORY ARCHAEOLOGY GIS VIDEO
GRADUATE UNDERGRADUATE FLOOD
STUDENTS STUDENTS INTERNSHIP
INHABITANTS PEOPLE
mercoledì 21 marzo 12

5. A “public history” project
Site
2.0
140.000 €
MUNICIPALITIES UNIVERSITY
TEAM 1 TEAM 2 TEAM 3 TEAM 4 WEB MANAGER
Cultural Heritage WebGIS
HISTORY ARCHAEOLOGY GIS VIDEO Flood
Survey In
Social
te
Networks
GRADUATE rv
UNDERGRADUATE FLOOD
STUDENTS ie
STUDENTS INTERNSHIP
w
s
INHABITANTS PEOPLE
mercoledì 21 marzo 12

6. mercoledì 21 marzo 12

7. mercoledì 21 marzo 12

8. client-server system
free, open source e OGC (Open Geospatial
Consortium) compliant solutions
server for maps - Geoserver
x DBMS with geographical tools - Postgresql/
PostGIS
OpenLayers libraries
jQuery libraries
mercoledì 21 marzo 12

9. mercoledì 21 marzo 12

10. Video Interviews
easy surfing
paths
comments
recorded by young residents
participation
made by the elders
split in short clips
stored with metadata
mercoledì 21 marzo 12

11. MEMORO - LA BANCA DELLA MEMORIA
mercoledì 21 marzo 12

12. mercoledì 21 marzo 12

13. mercoledì 21 marzo 12

14. SOCIAL NETWORK
YOUTUBE - TWITTER - FB - FLICKR
TRAINEE IN DIGITAL HUMANITIES
mercoledì 21 marzo 12

15. Achievements and gaps
Not everyone answered the social the valley has not the web
network call (indifference or infrastructure needed
unawareness) residents are mostly old people
Web 2.0 --> not specialist who lost habits and rituals of
historians become history-makers sharing memory and don't think
BUT WHAT IF this activity is the web as a repository or a tool
unaware and not understood? for memories
What if there is only the feeling to young people are few and not
be IN the history and the desire to enough prepared to correctly use
show it everyone? the digital tools and culture
The public historian should be able Italy (Europe?) is far from seeing
to make the others understand? the web as a virtual place where to
Val di Vara project is a new and build or rebuild memories or a new
nice and interesting fully public kind of history.
history project, BUT:
mercoledì 21 marzo 12

16. Achievements and gaps
By creating a site as TraMonti we tried to fill the
traditional gap between historians and community
but maybe we add or increase another gap, the
technological one, and not really achieve what
wished.
But this does not mean we should not keep trying...!
mercoledì 21 marzo 12