CIGEOE

On this page are presented in an interactive way, some of the most striking points related to the history of cartography in Portugal and in the creation and development of the Centro de Informação Geoespacial do Exército.

By an Order of October 21st 2005, of His Excellency the General Chief of Staff of the Army, Brigadier José Maria das Neves Costa was instituted as Patron of IGeoE.

An officer in the Royal Body of Engineers, he was born in Carnide on August 5th 1774 and died in Lisbon in 1841, probably on October 19th.

Trained in the Academy of Fortification, Artillery and Design (1793-1796), after preparation in the Naval Academia (1791-1793), he was awarded prizes and deemed one of the best pupils of his time.

An illustrious Military Engineer, he excelled in brilliant and innovative works in favour of military Cartography, in particular topographic surveys and the configuration of terrains, and was also a skilled designer. He developed his very wide activity in this field throughout more than 40 years and, although his acting was constantly mentioned throughout all the XIXth century, would then be very unfairly forgotten.

The Centro de Informação Geoespacial do Exército is organised in a hierarchical structure in different Centres with specific functions. 

Each Centre is subdivided into Departments according to the Cartographic Production processes and support thereto, as well as Centres and subsequently Departments responsible for ensuring the remaining activities related with the operation of the Centro de Informação Geoespacial do Exército, namely General Support, Logistic, the IT component and Human and Financial Resources.

The production process includes a set of complex and rigorous stages, namely Collection, Geographic Data base and Edition.

The Centro de Informação Geoespacial do Exército (CIGeoE) as an entity that produces cartography has a long tradition in preparing military cartography.
CIGeoE makes available in this website the information concerning projects and articles that have meanwhile been published both nationally and internationally.

Military and civil cartographic archives of excellence, covering about 15 000 copies of the whole world, with particular emphasis on national and PALOP cartography. Space for consultation and research to community service.

A relevant museum space available to society, it has the aim of preserving, exposing and divulging instrumental testimonies used at the service of military Cartographic Production in the 20th century.

The aim of this page is to inform about the activities developed in this Astronomic Observatory, as well as articles published about the research carried out therein.