On Saturday, 7 June, a roundtable entitled “Orienteering and cartography in the land of Eugenio Turri” was held at the Rifugio Mondini, named after Eugenio Turri.
The debate, which was opened by Gabriele Viale (PWT Italia and organiser of the Two Days of Mount Baldo), included speeches by Lawyer Piergiorgio Schena, President of Funivie del Baldo, who linked the use of mountain and orienteering maps to the concept of safety for all tourists and excursionists facing a mountain route: the map and its constant updating is a fundamental support for those venturing into unknown terrain, and the different levels of detail must be able to satisfy a heterogeneous public in terms of physical and technical ability, but also in terms of specific interests in exploring the area.
The president of FISO (Italian Orienteering Federation), Dr. Alfio Giomi, presented one of the key points of his four-year programme, which consists of the enhancement and precise cataloguing of the territories covered by oriental cartography. A cataloguing that not only has to cover the geographical but also the historical sphere, providing those who use a cartographic medium with a vision that shows how the territory and people have interacted over different time periods. From the point of view of competition, the map is a sports facility, it is a wealth and heritage of the movement: and as such it must be valorised for use not only at a high level but also as a vehicle for promotion, and the existence of the map as a sports facility must go beyond the restricted circle of users for a specific event, to become an element that is known and used by those who live in the areas, also and above all urban areas, covered by the oriental cartography.
Maurizio Marogna, author of the book “Monte Baldo – escursioni tra Natura e Storia” (Mount Baldo – hiking between nature and history), traced a path between the words used to narrate the unique territory in the world and the network of paths that run through it, and the map itself: this constitutes a synthesis of the dozens of stories reported in his books, one for each path travelled by wayfarers, and at the same time a way of expanding the narrative itself through a specific but universal symbology, readable by anyone who frequents the mountains without any language or alphabet comprehension barriers.
Remo Nardini, 4Land, presented an interesting and passionate link between the paper map and the digital map: one does not exclude the other, one does not supplant the other, but both present a point of view related to the user’s needs. The digital world may offer a high or very high level of detail depending on the specific interests of digital users, but the sense of touch associated with handling a traditional map still offers a unique sensation that can also stimulate the other senses during a strenuous walk or excursion that are not bound to the screen of a digital instrument.
Maurizio Castellani, mayor of San Zeno di Montagna, and Lorena Pinamonte, councillor of the municipality of Brenzone, highlighted the links between the Monte Baldo area, unique in the world in terms of its extension from 65 metres above sea level to 2,218 metres, the availability of maps to attract a tourism that can appreciate both the more sedentary visitor and the one more related to outdoor activities, and the high-level sporting events such as the Two Days of Monte Baldo that bring hundreds of enthusiasts with a significant impact on the economy of the municipalities.
Lastly, Augusto Cavazzani, an expert orienteering cartographer, brought to the round table the experience of someone who for over 40 years has lived this specific sport as an athlete in symbiosis with the role of constructor of a sports facility, through the different technologies and skills that have gradually become necessary to cover the needs of increasingly well-prepared athletes, all this without ever forgetting the emotional, passionate and loving aspect of those who make a map, visiting the place, taking possession of the specific atmosphere proposed by the territory and trying to bring back these emotions and these feelings on the cartographic support.