The Istituto Geografico Centrale (IGC, in English ‘’Central Geographic Institute’’) is a privately owned Italian company based in
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
(
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
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), known for its guide books and
hiking
Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...
map
A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes.
Many maps are static, fixed to paper or some other durable medium, while others are dynamic or interactive. Although ...
s mainly concerning the
Western Alps
The Western Alps are the western part of the Alpine Range including the southeastern part of France (e.g. Savoie), the whole of Monaco, the northwestern part of Italy (i.e. Piedmont and the Aosta Valley) and the southwestern part of Switzerland ( ...
and their contiguous areas.
History
![Espositore carte igc torino piazza san carlo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Espositore_carte_igc_torino_piazza_san_carlo.jpg)
IGC was established by Giuseppe Candeletti in 1952. Its first products were some very detailed maps of
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
and the ''Guida Toponomastica di Torino'' (''
Toponomastic
Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...
guide of Turin''). The following year IGC published an Atlante di Milano'' (''Atlas of
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
'') at
scale of 1:5,000 .
Some year later IGC started with mountaineering publishing, which in those years was expanding in Italy. After a first 1:50,000 map about the
Parco Nazionale del Gran Paradiso
Gran Paradiso National Park (Italian: ''Parco nazionale del Gran Paradiso''; ), is an Italian national park in the Graian Alps, between the Aosta Valley and Piedmont regions. The park is named after Gran Paradiso mountain, which is located in th ...
other 1:50,000 maps appeared, gradually covering the Alps from
Lombardy
Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
to
Liguria
Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...
. Later on other 1:50,000 maps about hills and plains of NW Italy followed, and IGC also published more detailed maps, at
scale of 1:25,000, mainly intended for
climbers
Climber may refer to:
*Climber, a participant in the activity of climbing
*Climber, general name for a vine
*Climber, or climbing specialist, a road bicycle racer who can ride especially well on highly inclined roads
* Climber (BEAM), a robot that ...
and
alpinists and also reporting, aside footpaths and ascent routes, also
mountain bike
A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which ...
tracks and
ski mountaineering
Ski mountaineering (abbreviated to skimo) is a skiing discipline that involves climbing mountains either on skis or carrying them, depending on the steepness of the ascent, and then descending on skis. There are two major categories of equipmen ...
routes.
The Istituto geografico Centrale is recognised for the role it played for decades in support of
hiking
Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...
and
alpinism
Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, ...
in the
Western Alps
The Western Alps are the western part of the Alpine Range including the southeastern part of France (e.g. Savoie), the whole of Monaco, the northwestern part of Italy (i.e. Piedmont and the Aosta Valley) and the southwestern part of Switzerland ( ...
. Although other map publishers appeared in Italy IGC maps, at least as far as 2012, were still considered highly widespread and ''the only ones able to cover the whole
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
, population_note =
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, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
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area''.
IGC guide books (''Guide IGC'')
![Guide IGC](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Guide_IGC.jpg)
Alongside its maps I.G.C. also published the ''Guide IGC'', a serie of guide books signed by the
alpinist Giulio Berutto, who was one of the autors of
CAI reference books making up the ''Guida dei Monti d'Italia''. Each of Berutto's guide book, consisting in one or two volumes, covers the area of one of the 1:50,000 IGC map with a wide range of
hiking
Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...
,
climbing
Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or any other part of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders), to small boulders. Climbing is done fo ...
and
mountain bike
A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which ...
itineraries. Despite its author's death in November 2004, which stopped further issues of the serie, many of the ''Guide IGC'' are still considered a reference by hikers and
alpine hut
A mountain hut is a building located high in the mountains, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineers, climbers and hikers. Mountain huts are usually operated by an Alpine Club or some organization d ...
s managers.
IGC bookshop
IGC manages a bookshop, also established in 1952, dealing with technical and scientific mapping like
aeronautical and
nautical chart
A nautical chart is a graphic representation of a sea area and adjacent coastal regions. Depending on the scale of the chart, it may show depths of water and heights of land (topographic map), natural features of the seabed, details of the coa ...
s, administrative and
geologic map
A geologic map or geological map is a special-purpose map made to show various geological features. Rock units or geologic strata are shown by color or symbols. Bedding planes and structural features such as faults, folds, are shown with st ...
s etc. Before
digitalisation it also used to sell the maps published by
national mapping agencies
A national mapping agency is an organisation, usually publicly owned, that produces topographic maps and geographic information of a country. Some national mapping agencies also deal with cadastral matters.
According to 2007/2/EC European direct ...
from European and, if available, extra-European countries. It also works as a branch of
CAI.
References
{{Authority control
1952 establishments in Italy
Map companies of Italy
Publishing companies of Italy