Hidden Cities: Urban Space, Geolocated Apps and Public History in Early Modern Europe

This groundbreaking collection explores the convergence of the spatial and digital turns through a suite of smartphone apps (Hidden Cities) that present research-led itineraries in early modern cities as public history.

The Hidden Cities apps have expanded from an initial case example of Renaissance Florence to a further five historic European cities. This collection considers how the medium structures new methodologies for site-based historical research, while also providing a platform for public history experiences that go beyond typical heritage priorities. It also presents guidelines for user experience design that reconciles the interests of researchers and end users. A central section of the volume presents the underpinning original scholarship that shapes the locative app trails, illustrating how historical research can be translated into public-facing work. The final section examines how history, delivered in the format of geolocated apps, offers new opportunities for collaboration and innovation: from the creation of museums without walls, connecting objects in collections to their original settings, to informing decision-making in city tourism management.

Hidden Cities is a valuable resource for upper-level undergraduates, postgraduates, and scholars across a variety of disciplines including urban history, public history, museum studies, art and architecture, and digital humanities.

The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Fabrizio Nevola is Professor of Art History and Visual Culture at the University of Exeter. His research focuses on urban and architectural history of early modern cities, with a particular attention for everyday life and public space in Italy, to which he also applies digital humanities approaches.

David Rosenthal is Research Associate at the University of Exeter. He works on urban social history in early modern Italy, with a focus on public space, ritual, and work. He co-created the Hidden Florence app with Fabrizio Nevola and is supervising editor of the Hidden Cities apps. He is currently editing a collection on disaster in the early modern world.

Nicholas Terpstra is Professor of History at the University of Toronto. He works at the intersections of gender, politics, charity, and religion in early modern Italy, focusing on civil and uncivil society, religious refugees, and the digital mapping of early modern social realities and relations.