MobiLab

A MobiLab representative attended the annual meeting of the International Commission for the History of Towns (ICHT), which was held at Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, Lithuania, from 10 to 12 September 2026.

The conference brought together an international community of scholars to discuss contemporary methods of studying urban history, with a particular focus on cities as complex spaces of memory, identity, and transformation. This year’s theme, ‘Forgetting and Remembering the Past in Urban History’, marked the launch of a new four-year ICHT programme titled ‘Dichotomies of Urban History’. It explored how cities preserve, interpret, or erase their past, and how urban landscapes shape collective memory.

MobiLab contributed to the scientific programme with a poster presentation by Marco Orlandi titled ‘Forgetting and Remembering Arian Ravenna: A GIS-based analysis of Gothic symbols and urban memory from Justinian’s Reconquest to UNESCO heritage’. This research provides a spatial, GIS-driven investigation into the erasure, preservation, and reinterpretation of Gothic symbols and Arian memory in Ravenna across the centuries, from the Byzantine reconquest to modern UNESCO heritage recognition.

The conference also hosted a session sharing the latest updates from the Atlas Working Group (AWG), which coordinates the European Historic Towns Atlas project. This session discussed new perspectives on spatial history, historical cartography and digital research methodologies in the era of artificial intelligence.

Participation in the annual ICHT meeting was a valuable opportunity for MobiLab and MoHu to present our research, engage with cutting-edge developments in digital and spatial history, and strengthen connections within this major European network of urban historians.

A MobiLab representative attended the annual meeting of the International Commission for History of Towns – ICHT, held in Ljubljana from 11 to 13 September 2025.

The conference gathered a wide international community of scholars to discuss current approaches to urban history, focusing on cities as dynamic spaces of interaction, transformation, and memory. This year’s conference theme, “Public History and Urban History Today: Visibility and Use of Urban History”, focused on how urban history can engage wider audiences, contribute to public understanding, and inform heritage and planning practices.

Among the different contributions, a preview of the Historic Atlas of Ljubljana was presented as a key addition to the series, representing a significant contribution to the comparative study of European urban development.

The conference also hosted a session sharing the latest updates from the Atlas Working Group (AWG), which coordinates the European Historic Towns Atlas project, and from the Data Standardisation Group, which works to harmonise digital data models and research methodologies across the different national atlas initiatives.

For the MobiLab, participation in the annual ICHT meeting was a valuable opportunity to follow the latest developments in the field, exchange ideas with colleagues, and strengthen connections within this major European network of urban historians.

MobiLab hosted the workshop ‘AnimAzioni Biodiverse: Immaginare, Animare, Comunicare la Biodiversità’.
The course, dedicated to digital animation and free of charge for students enrolled in university or equivalent courses, animation schools, academies and post-graduate courses, was held in attendance in intensive sessions.
Participants had the opportunity to work individually with materials provided during the course, with the aim of designing and producing digital animation clips on the theme of biodiversity.
The initiative was realised as part of the activities of the ‘National Biodiversity Future Centre – NBFC’ project, funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU – National Plan for Resistance and Resilience (PNRR), by the Department of Cultural Heritage – DBC, in collaboration with the Department of Historical and Geographic Sciences and the Ancient World – DiSSGeA and under the patronage of ASIFA-Italy and Cartùn APS.

MobiLab participated in the “Cities and Students: University Residences: Culture, Spaces, Heritage” conference organised by the AISU (Italian Association of Urban History).
The event, hosted by the Università Politecnica delle Marche and the University of Urbino, took place in Urbino from 19 to 21 September.

At the conference, MobiLab presented the latest results on the “student geography” of academic housing in Padua. Using historical GIS and digital cartography, the study explored the evolution of student housing patterns in the city from the medieval to the early modern period. This research, carried out in collaboration with the Centre for the History of the University of Padua (CSUP), is part of the BO2022 project and the activities of Atelier Héloïse – European Network on Digital Academic History.