Toponomastica indigena e azione cartografica tra poteri della carta e processi di patrimonializzazione

In the field of geography, there has been renewed interest in toponymy, reviving a long-standing tradition of study. Within this renaissance, it is possible to connect and integrate reflections from various strands of research that have emerged over the last two decades, including critical toponymy and the postrepresentational approach to cartography, within the broader framework of critical studies of cultural heritage. This integration offers a new perspective on initiatives aimed at recovering indigenous or vernacular toponymy, as well as the toponymy of linguistic minorities. Initiatives such as these have been frequent in recent decades in minority communities in the Alpine region. The author herself has developed, in collaboration with local experts and informants, the Ladin Toponymic Atlas of the Comelico Valley, which consolidates the various results of existing Ladin toponymic collections in the valley into a single geodatabase, offering a systematic and comprehensive resource. This essay revisits this experience in light of the main strands of the geographical debate that formed its theoretical and methodological basis.