One of the missions of the National Institute for Astrophysics is the protection, conservation and valorization of the entire historical heritage preserved in Italian Astronomical Observatories. This heritage, composed of instruments, books, works of art and archives dating mainly from the XVIII and XIX centuries, is a precious resource for developing research in the history of astronomy and promoting interdisciplinary studies in cultural astronomy. Thanks to the "Polvere di Stelle" web portal dedicated to astronomical libraries, archives and museums collections, which offers tools and databases to support research and enhance one of the richest astronomical heritages in the world. This project allows the heritage of the various observatories to be connected to tell stories, as already done with the virtual exhibition "Look Up! Sfoglia il cielo con un dito", that describes how our knowledge of the sky has evolved over the centuries. We will present a case study on the Padua Meridian Circle and the Paduan Catalogues realized by G. Santini, between 1836 and 1863, which include the positions and magnitudes of over 10,000 stars up to 10th magnitude. The precision of these observations, one of the best of the time, could provide also important contributions to modern astrometric observations. In this way, the historical heritage of the INAF proves not only a testimony of the past, but also an active resource for modern astrometric and astronomical research.

Brief CV of Dr. Federico Di Giacomo:

Federico Di Giacomo, graduated in cosmology and astrophysics at the University of Bologna in 2013. He has been working at INAF since 2015. He is involved in numerous public engagement and scientific heritage projects. He curated the virtual exhibition "Look up!" and he realized some educational workshops, in partnership with Save the Children, carried out in highly marginalized contexts. He was responsible for cataloging much of the historical instrumentation preserved in INAF observatories and he is conducting a research project focused on the study of star catalogs from the mid-19th century to the present.
In parallel to these activities, he is involved in various projects including the design and creation of multisensory content to make astronomy more accessible to all.