Italian Military Geographic Institute
“A successful path to basic school education also includes maps. Nowadays, when attention to the environment and sustainability in the use of resources is so widespread, knowledge of the territory is fundamental for a correct use of resources and, above all, for a healthy relationship between man and environment.”
Major General Pietro Tornabene Italian Military Geographic Institute
School pupils in Italy are benefitting from new maps that facilitate their understanding of the environment and local region.
The cartographic project led by the Italian Military Geographic Institute has created a 1:350 000 scale map for each of the twenty Italian regions. The aim is to represent the regional territory in an intuitive way. In doing so, the maps provide a valuable tool for facilitating an understanding of the environment for even the youngest school pupils.
The map shows the main, relevant natural and anthropic aspects that are useful for highlighting some general characteristics of the represented territory. These aspects can be grouped into the following topics: Altimetry, Hydrography, Borders, Transport, Inhabited areas, Settlements, Protected areas, Toponymy. Elevation is represented by hypsometric colours, contour lines and elevation points. Addition of a shading enhances the effect of the relief.
The main source of geographic data is EuroGeographics 1:250 000 scale EuroRegionalMap geographic database. Other data sources are used for the subsequent integration and control steps.
Benefits
- Demonstrates the practical uses and value of geospatial data in an easy-to-understand format.
- Encourages an interest and understanding in the environment, and the place that people have within in.
- Enables in-depth knowledge of the territory that is fundamental to sustainability and the correct use of resources.
- Ultimately promotes a healthy relationship between man and environment founded on respect for the natural world.