Conference Paper

“The Paths of Via Regina” is an INTERREG project (Cross-border Co-operation Operational Programme Italy - Switzerland 2007-2013) which aims at valorizing the cross-border area between Italy and Switzerland covered by many historical paths departing from the old Via Regina. These ancient historical routes have represented an important network of communication, cultural and commercial exchange throughout Europe and nowadays represents a fundamental transalpine system of soft mobility links. The project is developed within the context of GeoWeb 2.0, that has opened new possibilities in terms of online dissemination and sharing of geospatial contents. Moreover free and open source tools for processing, cataloguing, querying, editing and Web publishing maps have been used. The project started at the beginning of April 2013 and, after one year of activities, different aims have been achieved. During the first months of the project, all available data (i.e. maps and documents related to Via Regina and the paths associated with it), were collected and analyzed. The ancient Via Regina paths, no more existing in some traits, were defined again in a shared way by the partners of the project (public administrations both in Italy and Switzerland and associations of citizens), as a response not only to their historical value, but also for taking into account the new slow tourism paradigm based on long-distance pedestrian routes. During this stage of the project, the comparison with a previous experience achieved in Switzerland was essential. Because of the need to proceed with surveys, a shared survey protocol was defined as well as for building a common database, a data model was identified and shared. Tools concerning the creation of databases and geoservices were adopted. According to the crowdsourcing paradigm, users not only access information but become precious data producers. Through a mobile application, users can download forms, fill them and send them to the server for the final online publication. Moreover the Via Regina geoportal will provide two different viewers: a bi-dimensional one (for both traditional computers and mobile devices) and a multidimensional, both of them providing services and information for all kinds of soft-tourism (pedestrian, by bicycle and on horseback). Besides getting useful information from the geoportal for optimally organizing their trips, users can also enrich the geoportal through the contents (e.g. pictures and videos) collected during the trip and shared with the community.