Abstract

The ICCD manages the general catalog of cultural heritage thanks to an articulated knowledge system consisting of methods, tools and rules for acquiring information on cultural heritage according to homogeneous procedures and criteria. The Catalog has a highly centralized structure regulated by decision-making processes and funding flows which make it similar to a large traditional encyclopedia. It collects about 3 million records and it is not a sufficient tool to provide a complete, comprehensive and coherent map of the Italian cultural heritage. In 2017 the General Catalog of Cultural Heritage has been included among the key public databases to be released in open data. The ICCD started an innovative path that should allow to explore the possibilities offered by semantic web for the automatic enrichment of the cataloging data both in quantitative and qualitative terms. The new catalog website is being published: it will include the participation of research bodies and specialists in the processing of data and the possibility of retrieving the information produced in the ordinary activities of the peripheral institutes of Mibact.