From documentary sources to geographical entities

Abstract

Within the over 54,000 apprenticeship contracts enrolled in the series “Accordi di Garzoni” of the Giustizia Vecchia, between 1575 and 1772, it was possible to find over 48,000 indications of geographical origin, recording no fewer than 9,000 different toponymic formulations and/or orthographic variations, amounting to 2,522 standardised forms able to identify, with different levels of precision, 2,327 populated places, regions or more generic geographical areas. This wealth of data recorded inside the documentary source – arising in the slow process of orthographic stabilisation of toponymy, as well as the constant redefinition of the Ancien-Regime states and their territories (starting from the mobile borders of the Serenissima Republic of Venice) – imposed the definition and application of particular criteria of standardisation and normalisation aimed at their correct recognition and subsequent treatment. This contribution aims to outline the different steps in the processes of normalisation, classification and resolution of geographical-origin items, drawing attention to the methodology and practice used in each phase, also through the use of case studies.