Maps, music, and culture: representing historical soundscapes through digital mapping

The chapter presents the reconstruction of the historical soundscape of early modern Modena through a digital project. During the seventeenth century, Modena became an important musical centre thanks to the Este family. Crossing ancient maps with musical and archival sources of the House of Este, we will analyse the complex relationships between music and landscape. Thanks to the use of GIS, it will be possible to create an interactive map to reconstruct and analyse the landscape of the court. The digital platform will offer the chance to have new points of view for studying a city and its historical development, as well as multiplying the connections between geography and musicology.