A Webgis for the Knowledge and Conservation of the Historical Buildings in Sardinia (Italy)

Abstract

The presented work is part of the research project, titled "Tecniche murarie tradizionali: conoscenza per la conservazione ed il miglioramento prestazionale" (Traditional building techniques: from knowledge to conservation and performance improvement). This research project has the purpose of studying the building techniques of the 13<sup>th</sup>–18<sup>th</sup> centuries in the Sardinia Region (Italy) for their knowledge, conservation, and promotion. The end purpose of the entire study is to improve the performance of the examined structures. In particular, the task of the authors within the research project was to build a WebGIS to manage the data collected during the examination and study phases. This infrastructure was entirely built using Open Source software. <br><br> The work consisted of designing a database built in PostgreSQL and its spatial extension PostGIS, which allows storing and managing feature geometries and spatial data. The data input is performed via a form built in HTML and PHP. The HTML part is based on Bootstrap, an open tools library for websites and web applications. The implementation of this template used both PHP and Javascript code. The PHP code manages the reading and writing of data to the database, using embedded SQL queries. The database is published on the Internet as a WebGIS built using the Leaflet Javascript open libraries, which allows creating map sites with background maps and navigation, input and query tools. This too uses an interaction of HTML, Javascript, PHP and SQL code. The Database can be accessed in QGIS via a PostgreSQL connection. <br><br> As of today, we surveyed and archived more than 300 buildings, belonging to three main macro categories: fortification architectures, religious architectures, residential architectures.

3D WebGIS for Ephemeral Architecture Documentation and Studies in the Humanities

“…Two publishing companies have created digital collections about World's Fairs for research and education purposes; they base their repositories on original archival materials preserved by other libraries and archives. The Smithsonian Collections Online; World's Fairs and Expositions, Visions of Tomorrow [79]-by the GALE company 19 -simply shows the digitized material for 7 sample expositions. Users are free to explore the digital documents by interactive flip books but can also download PDF files.…”

“…Data should be structured according to their goal and users, and a DBMS has to be selected according to needs [28], using-as far as possible-cataloging and geographical standards or guidelines. A reusable data structure for CH documentation does not exist, and it needs to be tailored according to the case study, requesting time and expertise in cataloging and systematizing [19,33]. In the design process, using a common thesaurus for CH is essential for the dialogue between different experts [33], and LOD can expand on the contextualization of CH, as demonstrated in [83].…”

“…The current unavailability of the WebGIS is declared on the website https://mayaarch3d.org/en/about/project-history/ (accessed on 19 December 2023). A free and open WebGIS solution can be based on GIS software for data preparation like QGIS, Node.js-https://nodejs.org/en/ (accessed on 19 December 2023), and Leaflet-https://leafletjs.com/ (accessed on 19 December 2023) to render interactive maps in a web interface, Bootstrap-https://getbootstrap.com/ (accessed on 19 December 2023) to develop the webpage, a PostGIS extension to manage spatial functions in DBs, a DBMS such as PostgreSQL to handle the DB and its graphic interface like PgAdmin-https://www.pgadmin.org/ (accessed on 19 December 2023) and GeoServer-https://geoserver.org/ (accessed on 19 December 2023) as a web server to handle geospatial data [19,28,29]. A WebGIS consists of a web browser as a client to send and visualize requests, a web server where the application runs and replies to client requests, and a GIS server able to provide geospatial services-like WFS and WMS-and perform GIS functionalities [28,34], also using URLs and REST services.…”

“…Today, WebGIS applications are commonly used as providers of geographical data [12], in planning territorial maintenance [9], and for disaster analysis and risk prevention [13,14]. Moreover, other innovative WebGIS applications have recently arisen in the CH domain [15][16][17][18][19][20]. Very few studies have exploited a WebGIS for the humanities, but it demonstrates great potential in these areas.…”

Design and Implementation of an Open-Source Web-Gis to Manage the Public Works of Abruzzo Region: An Example Towards the Digitalization of the Management Process of Public Administrations

“…Web-GIS platforms are used in a wide range of sectors and fields like urban planning (Ostadabbas et al, 2021, Bendib et al, 2016, Ostadabbas et al, 2019, meteorology (Stefanov, 2021), water and coastal management (Arias Muñoz et al, 2017, Randazzo et al, 2021 , tourism aims and cultural heritage management (Oxoli et al, 2019, Vacca et al, 2017 and health application (Mushonga et al, 2017, Tiwari andJain, 2013).…”