Knowledge Base

The homepage represents the main entry point to the WP6 – SANCTUARIA search engine.

From this page, users can perform semantic or textual searches to identify foundation legends and ex-voto stored in the database, with results displayed through geolocated visualizations on an interactive map.

The homepage is designed to provide immediate access to search functionalities while maintaining a clear separation between query configuration and result visualization.

The homepage of the WP6 – SANCTUARIA tool (Figure 5) is composed of three main sections:

• Header
• Search panel (left column)
• Visualization area (right column)

The header includes the following elements:

• ITSERR logo with the subtitle *“Associated project to RESILIENCE”*
• Access button (for unauthenticated users), or User profile icon (after login)

When the user is authenticated, clicking on the profile icon opens the user menu, which provides access to the Dashboard and Logout options. (Figure 6)

The search panel contains all parameters required to configure a query, organized into logical blocks. (Figure 7)

Search type

Users can select the type of search to be performed:

• Semantic → conceptual search based on the meaning and context of terms
• Exact → literal keyword-based search

Text input field

A dedicated text field allows users to enter free-text queries. The same input can be used for both semantic and exact searches.

Geographic filters

Geographic filters allow the selection of one or more territorial areas (*Region*, *Province*, *City*) through a modal dialog that includes:

• integrated text search
• multiple selection via checkboxes

Thematic filters

Thematic filters are divided into two distinct sections depending on the selected resource type:

• Ex-Voto → includes fields specific to ex-voto records (e.g. *Depicted Subject*, *Source Date*, *Venerated Object*, etc.)
• Foundation Legends → includes fields related to foundation legends (e.g. *Sanctuary Name*, *Miracle Date*, *Document Type*, *Language*, etc.)

Users can perform searches:

• only on Ex-Voto resources,
• only on Foundation Legends,
• or on both resource types simultaneously by activating the corresponding checkboxes.

Control buttons

At the bottom of the search panel, two action buttons are available:

• Search → updates the results according to the selected parameters
• Reset → restores all search fields and filters to their default values, clearing any active query or selection

The *Reset* button is particularly useful for quickly returning to the initial search state after applying multiple filters or complex semantic queries.

The visualization area supports two alternative result display modes:

• List View → textual list of resources including title, short description, and main metadata (Type, Source Date, Sanctuary, Region, City) (Figure 8)
• Map View → geographic visualization on an interactive map of Italy, including regional boundaries, green markers, and visual tags for active categories (e.g. *Foundation Legends*) (Figure 9)

The two modes can be toggled using the visualization icons located in the upper control bar.

Both views support:

• zoom and centering tools,
• automatic result updates when filters are modified,
• synchronization between map and list (changes in one view are reflected in the other).

The footer displays:

• a brief description of the ITSERR project,
• links to *About*, *Support*, and *Resources* sections,
• institutional logos, including *NextGenerationEU*, *MUR*, *Italia Domani*, and *University of Palermo*.

• Responsive user interface, available in English (EN).
• Data dynamically loaded via API.
• Cartographic base managed using mapping libraries such as Leaflet or OpenLayers.