Palmiro Storti: a Soldier-Cartographer in al-Khums, 1918-1919
The previously unpublished cartographic documentation presented here represents precious evidence of knowledge of the territory of al-Khums and Lepcis Magna at the end of the 1910’s. The documents, six maps of the city and area of al-Khums, and assorted photographs and aerial photos acquired by the Author on the antiques market, were made and/or collected by Palmiro Storti, a soldier in the Murge Brigade stationed in al-Khums from late 1918 to the first half of 1919. The most interesting documents are the five maps of the al-Khums area on a scale of 1:25.000 which were created using aerial photography and field surveys that were for the exclusive use of the Brigade. There is also a planimetry of the city of al-Khums, on a scale of 1:5.000. This documentation, apart from representing a large sector of the territory that had not been mapped on this scale by the Istituto Geografico Militare (Military Geographical Institute), provides an invaluable source of information not only regarding the territory and place-names, but also the archaeological heritage. The maps, in fact, show ruins and numerous structures which were reported in topographical documents often for the first time. These data contributed not only to identifying their positions, but also to their state of conservation and impact upon the overall territory. Keywords: Palmiro Storti, Reggimento Fanteria Brigata Murge, Homs, Leptis Magna, cartografia Palmiro Storti, Infantry Regiment Murge Brigade, al-Khums, Lepcis Magna, cartography.
