One of the remarkable features of modern GIS tools is that map displays are not any more static. Rather, they provide a highly interactive medium for rapidly editing and exploring geographical data. Today, most systems allow for moving and resizing both the display window and all map (layout) components. Such tasks are achieved using different approaches. Linear or polygonal features can be coloured according to user-selected colour schemes; while point features can be displayed according to graduated colour or size/shape legends or labelled with any alphanumeric string. Raster (grid) data can be portrayed and explored exploiting a wide family of functions such as image rotation, flipping, mirroring, linear stretching, equalisation and filtering.   
  
  

	Merge of the paper map with the aerial image along a border represented by the railway. The outstanding historical buildings are in colour and numbered, a planning zone is hatched (regional map, scale 1:5.000).
	The same as above, but pointing out the public transport network (regional map, scale 1:5.000).
	The historical part of the city, the public buildings and the main roads are in colour on the background represented by the scanned paper map (regional map, scale 1:5.000).
	The same as above, on the background of an aerial image.
	Another image representing a satellite image of  some of the western part of the city of Genoa (raster format) where is superimposed a vector format zoning of two different themes (in two different colours). In this case the scale of the vector information was 1:25000.