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ivista trimestrale, Anno XV - Numero 3 <strong>2023</strong><br />

www.archeomatica.it<br />

ArcheomaticA<br />

Cultural Heritage Technologies<br />

Innovative Solutions<br />

for Cultural Heritage<br />

Between architecture<br />

and Digital Twin<br />

Leonardo da Vinci’s<br />

Last Supper<br />

Digital Narratives<br />

for CH


Tecnologie<br />

per le Scienze<br />

della Terra e del Mare<br />

Magnetometri<br />

terrestri<br />

Magnetometri<br />

marini<br />

Magnetometri<br />

per drone<br />

Leggeri e intuitivi per rilievi<br />

ambientali e geologici: progetto<br />

preimpostato, dati visualizzati<br />

a colori e con il rumore di<br />

fondo più basso del mercato.<br />

Rapidi, accurati, acquisiscono dati<br />

ad altissima risoluzione in acque<br />

poco o molto profonde. G-882 è<br />

l’unico certificato per le bonifiche<br />

OBI-UXO nel mare del Nord.<br />

La tecnologia MFAM diminuisce<br />

di 10 volte dimensioni e consumi<br />

e mantiene l’altissima risoluzione.<br />

Codevintec rappresenta anche:<br />

tel. +39 02 4830.2175 | info@codevintec.it | www.codevintec.it


EDITORIAL<br />

Museum use<br />

This issue of <strong>Archeomatica</strong> is dedicated, in no uncertain terms, to the use of museum heritage, a<br />

complex topic that has millions of facets, between public and private, not least of which is the<br />

intercontinental transmigration of cultural contents and, above all, of the narrative language that<br />

unites them and that separates and distinguishes them.<br />

The change in focus on the very delicate topic, in almost all countries including the institutional<br />

level, in 2022 has changed the definition of museum by the international ICOM's body, mainly<br />

addressing the cultural role of intergenerational communication of the museum.<br />

It does not mean that the accessibility of the museum and the removal of architectural barriers<br />

have faded into the background as regards the functional objective of opening and practicability of<br />

museum containers to the public, which increasingly needs to be increased in terms of frequency,<br />

being their permanent framework according to the historical world museum organization.<br />

It means that museums, like libraries, are even more instruments of cultural diffusion which, in<br />

making use of the audiovisual image and interactivity as a means of communication on an emotional<br />

level, does not forget the sustainability of the public integration projects advanced and to be<br />

advance, including the public that once said they were simply less fortunate.<br />

That is, the integration of sustainability with disability, of any kind, even alphabetic, whatever the<br />

cost. Tactile and audiovisual values are at the center of the communicative effectiveness of the<br />

museum complex and of the conservation of the works of art and literature that build the language<br />

and their transmission to the future: being visitable is the purpose of its collections and being open<br />

the purpose of its databases.<br />

For paintings and sculptures to be interpretable, they must not be modified, even when profoundly<br />

altered, and the Restoration Charters and Risk Maps are still the fundamental communicative tools<br />

of the artistic sign and writing, even when it has traveled the world, on paper and by cable. The<br />

meaning intentionally and unintentionally participates in interpretations, even the most equivocal<br />

identifications throughout the centuries, and the historian like the visitor moves through the<br />

contradictions of the vast and borderless work on the image, even more so if offered through the<br />

materials and techniques of art reproduction, now no longer just engraving, photographic and<br />

cinematographic, but radiographic, infrared, laser scanning, punctiform, holographic and so on<br />

through which even an expert orients himself as if he were blind in front of a hieroglyph: its its<br />

meanings have not changed unless the sign has been corrupted, they have increased immeasurably<br />

in the memory of artificial intelligence and sometimes even distorted and disguised.<br />

To the point that today it is possible to coherently object to Walter Benjamin and his essay entitled<br />

'The work of art in the era of its technical reproducibility' that the work of art in itself was born<br />

and lived in the era of its technical reproducibility and that there has not been an era that has not<br />

reproduced its samples and masterpieces, as long as sustainability and memory have not become<br />

in the common language above borders and frontiers synonymous with substitution, if not in the<br />

digital evanescence of web and viewers. The only tool in terms of prevention and protection from<br />

the perishability of materials that allows you to imagine the work of art totally as it was in the most<br />

immersive of uses.<br />

Buona lettura,<br />

Francesca Salvemini


SUMMARY<br />

DOCUMENTATION<br />

6 Digital narratives<br />

for education and<br />

cultural dissemination:<br />

an application case<br />

in the Colosseum<br />

archaeological park<br />

On the cover a demonstrative image of a<br />

user using VALUE (Visual Analysis for Localization<br />

and Understanding of Environments)<br />

by Noémie Gabay, Dario Di<br />

Girolamo, Andrea Schiappelli<br />

12 Between architecture and<br />

Digital Twin: the 3D survey<br />

of the Visconti Tower of the<br />

famous Monza Park<br />

by Valentina Baratti, Giada Quercia,<br />

Gianluca Renghini<br />

follow us on<br />

Twitter, Facebook e Instagram<br />

ArcheomaticA<br />

CULTURAL HERITAGE TECHNOLOGIES<br />

YEAR XV, N° 3 - <strong>2023</strong><br />

<strong>Archeomatica</strong>, quarterly published since 2009, is the<br />

first Italian magazine for dissemination, promotion and<br />

exchange of knowledge on technologies for the preservation,<br />

enhancement and enjoyment of cultural heritage.<br />

Publishing about technologies for survey and documentation,<br />

analysis and diagnosis, restoration and maintenance,<br />

museums and archaeological parks, social networking and<br />

"smart" peripherals. As a reference point in the field is the<br />

sharing media for the industry, the professionals, the institutions,<br />

the academia, including research institutions and<br />

government agencies.<br />

Director<br />

Renzo Carlucci<br />

dir@archeomatica.it<br />

Managing Editor<br />

Michele Fasolo<br />

michele.fasolo@archeomatica.it<br />

Editorial board<br />

Giuseppe Ceraudo, Annalisa Cipriani, Maurizio<br />

Forte, Bernard Frischer, Giovanni Ettore<br />

Gigante, Mario Micheli, Stefano Monti,<br />

Luca Papi, Marco Ramazzotti,<br />

Antonino Saggio, Francesca Salvemini,<br />

Rodolfo Maria Strollo<br />

Editors<br />

Valerio Carlucci<br />

valerio.carlucci@archeomatica.it<br />

redazione@archeomatica.it<br />

Matteo Serpetti<br />

matteo.serpetti@archeomatica.it<br />

Maria Chiara Spezia<br />

chiaraspiezia@archeomatica.it


CASE STUDY<br />

16 Leonardo da Vinci’s<br />

Last Supper: Enhanced<br />

Uses and New Digital<br />

Pathways<br />

by Francesco Gavioli,<br />

Eleonora Ligas<br />

COLUMNS<br />

32 ENTERPRISES<br />

STATE-OF-THE-ART<br />

SOLUTIONS<br />

40 AGORÀ<br />

News from Heritage world<br />

42 EVENTS<br />

20 SyncHolo: Holograms<br />

in the World of Art<br />

by paola Rocca, Caterina Rai,<br />

Camilla di Giacomo<br />

ADV<br />

AMOR 24<br />

CHNT 31<br />

Codevintec 2<br />

Esri 30<br />

MUSEUMS<br />

26 Innovative Solutions for<br />

the fruition of<br />

Cultural Heritage: VALUE<br />

by Antonino Lopes, Angelo Aiello,<br />

Gter 10<br />

Planetek 25<br />

Stonex 11<br />

Strumenti Topografici 44<br />

TechnologyForAll 43<br />

Teorema 42<br />

Luca Falzone, Viola Massa<br />

pubblishied by<br />

Science & Technology Communication<br />

Science & Technology Communication<br />

Marketing and Subcriptions<br />

Tatiana Iasillo<br />

t.iasillo@mediageo.it<br />

MediaGEO soc. coop.<br />

Via Palestro, 95<br />

00185 Roma<br />

tel. 06.64.87.12.09<br />

fax. 06.62.20.95.10<br />

www.archeomatica.it<br />

Graphic Design<br />

Daniele Carlucci<br />

daniele@archeomatica.it<br />

Publisher<br />

MediaGEO soc. coop.<br />

<strong>Archeomatica</strong> è una testata registrata al<br />

Tribunale di Roma con il numero 395/2009<br />

del 19 novembre 2009<br />

ISSN 2037-2485<br />

Printed by Bona Digital Print Srl<br />

Signed articles engages only the<br />

responsibility of the author. It is forbidden<br />

partial reproduction of the contents of<br />

this journal in any form and by any means,<br />

electronic or mechanical, including data storage<br />

systems and download, without any written<br />

permission.


DOCUMENTATION<br />

Digital narratives for education and<br />

cultural dissemination: an application case<br />

in the Colosseum archaeological park<br />

By Noémie Gabay, Dario Di Girolamo, Andrea Schiappelli<br />

Fig 1 - In the PArCo with Claudius: a path to empowerment.<br />

In recent years, the demand<br />

for innovative cultural heritage<br />

presentation has risen. Cognitive<br />

barriers pose a challenge in<br />

connecting cultural sites with<br />

the public. Storytelling and<br />

gamification can help overcome<br />

these barriers, making cultural<br />

places more inclusive. We'll discuss<br />

Cultrip's innovative approach,<br />

focusing on their narrative<br />

serious game at the Colosseum<br />

archaeological park (Fig. 1).<br />

TOWARDS NEW FORMS<br />

OF CULTURAL NARRATION<br />

Storytelling, despite the appearance<br />

of novelty given by the<br />

term, is a concept perhaps as<br />

old as humanity itself. In the<br />

context of past civilizations,<br />

forms of communication between<br />

generations were predominantly<br />

oral, creating a rich heritage<br />

of stories that, though<br />

largely forgotten today, finds<br />

new life in the objects displayed<br />

in museums, which are intrinsically<br />

linked to shared places and<br />

imaginaries. The mission of the<br />

modern cultural communicator,<br />

is precisely to attempt to forge<br />

a link between objects and the<br />

stories they witness, stories that<br />

tell of the daily lives of the men<br />

and women of the past.<br />

Storytelling can become a powerful<br />

tool to democratize access<br />

to culture and knowledge,<br />

translating complex concepts<br />

into a more accessible language.<br />

Additionally, due to the interaction<br />

guaranteed by digital<br />

technology, individuals with different<br />

needs can interact and<br />

participate appropriately according<br />

to their motivations and<br />

cognitive and cultural needs.<br />

The visitor is no longer limited<br />

to being a passive listener to<br />

a story, but becomes an active<br />

protagonist who now takes<br />

ownership of the experience.<br />

Storytelling techniques serve as<br />

effective psychological levers<br />

that act on the very depths of<br />

human psychology. The goal is to<br />

emotionally engage the visitor,<br />

not only at an intellectual level,<br />

but deeply in the most intimate<br />

sensitivity of knowledge. In this<br />

way, emotion becomes the vehicle<br />

for transmitting knowledge<br />

without ever trivializing the<br />

cultural content or degrading its<br />

language.<br />

There is a mechanism as ancestral<br />

as storytelling. In the ani-<br />

6 ArcheomaticA N°3 <strong>2023</strong>


Cultural Heritage Technology 7<br />

mal world, puppies learn to survive<br />

through play, honing their<br />

physical and cognitive skills.<br />

Play can be considered a form<br />

of simulation in a controlled environment,<br />

which aims to reproduce<br />

a certain situation, in order<br />

to provide an opportunity for learning<br />

through the autonomous<br />

resolution of a problem.<br />

The so-called gamification, understood<br />

as the application of<br />

game elements and game-design<br />

principles in non-gaming contexts,<br />

can be declined, as in our<br />

case, also in the cultural field.<br />

Game mechanisms like rewards,<br />

goals, levels, and challenges,<br />

motivate people to perform extraordinary<br />

actions they would<br />

normally not undertake. The success<br />

of gamification is rooted in<br />

motivational elements that, once<br />

again, draw on intrinsic values of<br />

the person, such as the desire to<br />

access social rewards and enhance<br />

his or her self-esteem.<br />

The use of storytelling and gamification<br />

in the cultural context<br />

is particularly effective<br />

when directed at children and<br />

teenagers, as these languages<br />

are part of their daily lives. Since<br />

young people associate play<br />

and storytelling with moments<br />

of pleasure and enjoyment, it is<br />

possible to mitigate the aversion<br />

that some of them might have<br />

towards what they perceive as<br />

school activities.<br />

fusion of the two concepts. Cultrip<br />

is an initiative mainly aimed<br />

at children aged 7 to 11, a group<br />

that shows enormous receptivity<br />

towards such forms of dissemination,<br />

as well as curiosity<br />

and openness to exploring even<br />

complex scientific and historical<br />

topics.<br />

The idea behind Cultrip is inspired<br />

by the so-called game books<br />

born in the '80s in the United<br />

States. In these adventure books,<br />

the reader took on the role<br />

of a character within the story<br />

and, jumping back and forth<br />

between the pages, made decisions<br />

that influenced the development<br />

of the plot. This reference<br />

is reinterpreted in Cultrip<br />

to adapt it to the contemporary<br />

context and the peculiarities of<br />

the cultural field. Therefore,<br />

although interactive stories can<br />

be accessed from smartphones<br />

or computers, they are closely<br />

linked to the site itself. The<br />

virtual journey undertaken by<br />

the player reflects what could<br />

physically be done, thus extending<br />

the interaction between<br />

the visitor and the site itself.<br />

This is one of the advantages of<br />

the digital mode of fruition for<br />

cultural sites: it accompanies<br />

the visitor before the visit to<br />

prepare for discovery and after<br />

the visit to relive the experience<br />

from home.<br />

Another advantage is intense<br />

sensory involvement thanks to<br />

auditory and visual immersion,<br />

as well as increased accessibility.<br />

In the digital medium,<br />

the concept of non-linear plot,<br />

already present in game books,<br />

expands further. The story fragments<br />

into narrative nodes where<br />

the user's choice possibilities<br />

are potentially infinite, allowing<br />

a new story to be experienced<br />

each time. The user becomes<br />

a co-creator by autonomously<br />

choosing which branch of the<br />

story to explore and takes the<br />

active role of a protagonist in<br />

the tale. By playing in the first<br />

person, they trigger that process<br />

of identification with the characters<br />

and the ancient world<br />

that makes the experience so<br />

powerful and memorable.<br />

AN INTEGRATED METHODOLOGI-<br />

CAL APPROACH<br />

There are many projects in recent<br />

years that have approached<br />

cultural communication through<br />

the concepts of storytelling and<br />

gamification. This paper will illustrate<br />

the experience of Cultrip,<br />

which is remarkable for the<br />

Fig 2. - Structure of narrative passages with nodes and ramifications.


Time spent by children on digital<br />

devices is usually perceived<br />

by adults as of little value, if not<br />

harmful. However, with the dissemination<br />

technique described<br />

above, such time is not wasted<br />

but is transformed into a means<br />

of knowledge and development<br />

of creative imagination.<br />

Fig 3. - Interactive story map at the palatine and Roman forum on Claudius with narrative arc.<br />

OPERATIONAL STEPS<br />

The Cultrip project, prioritizes<br />

not so much technology, but<br />

more than anything the value of<br />

cultural content. A writing methodology<br />

was developed to create<br />

compelling and aesthetically<br />

impactful interactive narratives<br />

without betraying historical accuracy.<br />

This method will be briefly<br />

explained below.<br />

As a first step, working closely<br />

with the institutions of the cultural<br />

site, an initial attempt is<br />

made to establish a connection<br />

with the place, to understand its<br />

needs and, so to speak, capture<br />

its essence. Together we select a<br />

possible visit route and consider<br />

where to place QR codes that<br />

will allow access to the interactive<br />

story from different points<br />

along the itinerary.<br />

Subsequently, in-depth historical<br />

research and source study<br />

is undertaken. The material gathered<br />

at this stage is subjected<br />

to critical analysis in order<br />

to identify a historical event,<br />

work of art, or theme to serve<br />

as a background for the future<br />

narrative. The proposed stories<br />

are always based on historical<br />

facts or the material and<br />

intangible culture of the site.<br />

This choice might seem like a<br />

constraint on imagination, but<br />

in fact constraints can provide<br />

a coherence that works in favor<br />

of the project. The more historical<br />

data are gathered, the more<br />

the story is enriched with details<br />

and subplots and becomes both<br />

vivid and plausible. The creative<br />

writing stage also assumes a<br />

key role in filling in the blanks<br />

resulting from incomplete and<br />

biased historical sources. In choosing<br />

the subject of the narrative,<br />

not only the great characters<br />

and the best-known events are<br />

favored, but also the everyday<br />

vicissitudes of ordinary people<br />

are considered. In this way, kids<br />

can feel closer to the people of<br />

those distant times, identifying<br />

with their joys and worries.<br />

We proceed to the creation stage,<br />

where the narrated story<br />

enriched with scientific insights<br />

is written, and, in addition, the<br />

structure and computer programming<br />

for the ramifications<br />

of the story is developed. (Fig.<br />

2) Finally, to make the experience<br />

engaging and captivating for<br />

children, the text is accompanied<br />

by vivid illustrations inspired<br />

by the world of graphic novels,<br />

narrator voices, and sound<br />

and musical effects, which make<br />

the entire narrative even more<br />

vibrant and exciting. This deliberate<br />

pop art look, with a vibrant<br />

color palette, plays a major<br />

role in overcoming the idea<br />

of boredom and obsolescence<br />

too often associated by children<br />

with history.<br />

THE CASE STUDY:<br />

THE NARRATIVE SERIOUS<br />

GAME FOR THE COLOSSEUM<br />

ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARK<br />

We now want to bring as a case<br />

study the experience created<br />

with the input and collaboration<br />

of the Education, Didactics and<br />

Training Service of the Colosseum<br />

archaeological park.<br />

This shared project, titled “At<br />

the PArCo with Claudius: a path<br />

to empowerment”, aligns with<br />

the guidelines that the park's<br />

EDF Service has established over<br />

time. It follows a strategy focused<br />

on the development of gamified<br />

experiences, preferably integrated<br />

with direct site experiences.<br />

This approach is considered<br />

essential for effective learning of<br />

historical-archaeological content<br />

and, above all, for providing a<br />

satisfying emotional and sensory<br />

experience the ultimate goal of<br />

initiatives like this.<br />

The case study consists of an interactive<br />

story related to a tour<br />

8 ArcheomaticA N°3 <strong>2023</strong>


Cultural Heritage Technology 9<br />

route that unfolds between the<br />

Palatine and the Roman Forum<br />

in which each narrative arc corresponds<br />

to a place that is emblematic<br />

in the park and important<br />

to the narrative. This story is<br />

enriched by a series of elements<br />

that make it a real teaching aid<br />

made available to teachers of<br />

Italian elementary and secondary<br />

schools and is usable by LIM (interactive<br />

whiteboard multimedia).<br />

It accompanies the child at all<br />

stages of discovery of the archaeological<br />

site: at school, with the<br />

support of teachers; at home,<br />

independently or in family; and<br />

finally, during the visit to the archaeological<br />

park. (Fig. 3).<br />

Objectives of the project<br />

The goals that had been foreseen<br />

were two: first, to gradually<br />

introduce children to the<br />

knowledge of the Palatine and<br />

the Roman Forum through the<br />

story of Emperor Claudius during<br />

his childhood. Second, to raise<br />

children's awareness of socially<br />

sensitive issues, such as bullying,<br />

marginalization, and disability,<br />

experiences Claudius had during<br />

his youth. These topics become<br />

an opportunity for dialogue and<br />

discussion with children about<br />

the differences and similarities<br />

between past societies and our<br />

own, making them empathize<br />

with the suffering that arises<br />

from these difficult situations.<br />

The narrative broadly takes up<br />

the traditional structure of fairy<br />

tales as theorized by V. Propp. It<br />

is a coming-of-age tale in which<br />

young Claudius manages to overcome<br />

his fears with the help of<br />

new friends until he is ready to<br />

embrace adulthood, symbolized<br />

by the toga virilis ceremony.<br />

The player becomes a character<br />

in the Augustan imperial court,<br />

talks to historical figures such<br />

as the emperor Augustus or the<br />

teacher Verrius Flaccus, and<br />

explores first-century Rome.<br />

Through his or her choices, he<br />

or she must help the young Claudius<br />

find his lost bulla by facing<br />

trials that, if mastered, unlock<br />

several possible endings, a peculiarity<br />

that promotes the longevity<br />

and replayability of the<br />

experience.<br />

Educational aspects<br />

The method adopted proves effective<br />

in the educational context<br />

through the use of various<br />

learning mechanisms. In addition<br />

to students' emotional involvement<br />

in storytelling, a verification<br />

system is used to consolidate<br />

acquired notions and<br />

foster long-term learning. This<br />

verification system also provides<br />

immediate feedback to teachers<br />

on the degree of students' attention<br />

and learning.<br />

At the end of listening to insights<br />

based on the ministerial<br />

syllabus that intersperse the<br />

Fig 4 - Album of stickers and collectible cards.<br />

narrative, a mini-verification<br />

game is offered. These quizzes,<br />

if passed, reward the player<br />

with collectible cards, another<br />

cornerstone of the experience.<br />

These illustrated cards stimulate<br />

children of that age's natural<br />

pleasure in collecting, and serve<br />

as rewards for learning efforts.<br />

The experience is not only digital,<br />

but the collectible cards<br />

are also provided in paper form<br />

to be pasted on a travel diary<br />

that serves as a visit guide and a<br />

scrapbook. The latter adopts the<br />

graphic language and structure<br />

of commercially popular sticker<br />

albums, but instead of soccer<br />

players, the protagonists are<br />

Roman emperors, slaves, and artists.<br />

(Fig. 4)<br />

CONCLUSION<br />

The success of the Cultrip<br />

project, and in particular of the<br />

application developed for the<br />

Colosseum archaeological park,<br />

confirms the potential of digital<br />

narrative and gamification techniques<br />

in the field of cultural<br />

communication. Cultrip's inte-


active story created for the<br />

Colosseum archaeological<br />

park represents an example<br />

of how the new methodologies<br />

of interactive storytelling<br />

and gamification can be<br />

applied with success in museum<br />

education and cultural<br />

outreach.<br />

Thanks to the skillful integration<br />

of engaging storytelling<br />

and appealing graphic, the<br />

project manages not only<br />

to stimulate the interest of<br />

children towards the historical<br />

and artistic heritage<br />

of Ancient Rome, but also<br />

effectively conveys cultural<br />

notions.<br />

It is time to abandon the idea<br />

that these types of approaches<br />

based on storytelling<br />

and play lead to a degradation<br />

of the scientific level or<br />

demean the importance of<br />

the cultural site. On the contrary,<br />

the power of stories<br />

lies in their ability to excite<br />

and create new audiences<br />

passionate about history that<br />

will bring to the museum a<br />

quality cultural tourism.<br />

Bibliography<br />

Bedini S. (2018), Racconto &<br />

Storytelling. Attualità e forme del<br />

narrare, Firenze: Franco Cesati Editore<br />

Bodo S., Mascheroni S., Panigada<br />

M.G. (2016), a cura di, Un patrimonio<br />

di storie. La narrazione nei musei,<br />

una risorsa per la cittadinanza<br />

culturale, Milano: Mimesis Edizioni<br />

Bonacini E. (2020), I Musei e le<br />

forme dello Storytelling digitale,<br />

Roma: Aracne Editrice<br />

Bravo G.L (2000), a cura di, Vladimir<br />

J. Propp. Morfologia della fiaba,<br />

Torino: Einaudi<br />

Dal Maso C. (2018), “Introduzione.<br />

Storytelling: perché”, in Dal Maso<br />

C., a cura di, Racconti da museo.<br />

Storytelling d’autore per il museo<br />

4.0, Bari: Edipuglia, pp. 11-24<br />

Maraffi S., Sacerdoti F.M. (2018),<br />

La didattica innovativa: digital gaming<br />

e storytelling, Limena: Libreria<br />

Universitaria<br />

Viola F., Cassone V. (2017), L’arte<br />

del coinvolgimento. Emozioni e stimoli<br />

per cambiare il mondo, Milano:<br />

Hoepli<br />

Abstract<br />

The integration of storytelling and<br />

gamification in cultural communication<br />

and education offers a powerful<br />

means to engage audiences<br />

and make cultural content more<br />

accessible and enjoyable. The Cultrip<br />

project exemplifies how these<br />

methodologies can be successfully<br />

implemented, providing an interactive<br />

and educational experience for<br />

children at the Colosseum archaeological<br />

park. By embracing innovative<br />

approaches, cultural institutions<br />

can foster a deeper appreciation<br />

and understanding of heritage<br />

among diverse audiences, ultimately<br />

contributing to the democratization<br />

of culture and knowledge.<br />

Keywords<br />

storytelling; gamification; cultural dissemination;<br />

museums; digital; education;<br />

accessibility; narrative serious games<br />

Author<br />

Noémie Gabay<br />

noemie.gabay@cultrip.it<br />

architect and co-founder of Duplicart,<br />

Dario Di Girolamo<br />

dario.digirolamo@cultrip.it<br />

architect and co-founder of Duplicart,<br />

Andrea Schiappelli<br />

andrea.schiappelli@cultura.gov.it<br />

Archaeological Officer, Head of the<br />

Education Didactics and Training Service<br />

at the Colosseum archaeological park,<br />

10 ArcheomaticA N°3 <strong>2023</strong>


Cultural Heritage Technology 11<br />

www.stonex.it<br />

SURVEYING<br />

THE WORLD<br />

COME SEE US:<br />

Hall 27<br />

Stand A27.27 / A27.28


DOCUMENTATION<br />

Between architecture and Digital Twin:<br />

the 3D survey of the Visconti Tower<br />

of the famous Monza Park<br />

by Valentina Baratti, Giada Quercia, Gianluca Renghini<br />

Fig. 1 - Instruments used and data exported.<br />

In the month of March 2022, as part of a redevelopment project<br />

of the Visconti Tower, in collaboration with the Villa Reale Park<br />

Consortium, the topographic, 3D and aerial photogrammetric<br />

surveys of the Tower were carried out within the walls of the<br />

Monza Park, famous for the international racetrack and for its<br />

kilometers of city walls: one of the largest European historic<br />

parks. The surveys were carried out to obtain an extremely<br />

detailed, precise and georeferenced 3D model of the building in<br />

order to produce high-level internal and external elevations and<br />

floor plans. The result obtained is the digital model of the use of<br />

different survey tools and techniques integrated together.<br />

HISTORICAL NOTES OF THE VI-<br />

SCONTI TOWER OF THE ROYAL<br />

PALACE OF MONZA<br />

The Visconti Tower, located inside<br />

the Royal Gardens of the<br />

Royal Palace of Monza, was<br />

conceived and designed in the<br />

first decade of the nineteenth<br />

century by Luigi Canonica, who<br />

was responsible for drawing<br />

up the entire perimeter of the<br />

current Monza Park, as can be<br />

seen from the cadastral map at<br />

that time. The idea of ​the tower<br />

with neo-Gothic shapes, howe-<br />

12 ArcheomaticA N°3 <strong>2023</strong>


Cultural Heritage Technology 13<br />

ver, found its execution only in<br />

1822, when Giacomo Tazzini,<br />

who succeeded Canonica in the<br />

role of architect of the Royal<br />

buildings, thought of exploiting<br />

the ancient rural building of the<br />

Tuscan vineyard casino to create<br />

a building “alla gotica” and<br />

enrich the royal gardens with<br />

another notable topical piece<br />

of the romantic garden repertoire:<br />

the gothic tower and the<br />

medieval ruin, so popular in the<br />

classic english gardens of those<br />

years. In a first draw the main<br />

elements of the structure are<br />

sketched, which will only be<br />

definitively completed in 1824,<br />

again by Tazzini. The new building,<br />

composed of a portico,<br />

a ground room and an upper<br />

room, is approached by a new<br />

circular tower about twenty<br />

meters high: inside a spiral<br />

staircase leads first to an upper<br />

gallery and finally to the crenelated<br />

terrace: a real lookout<br />

tower at the edge of the gardens<br />

from which was possible to<br />

enjoy an innovative and unusual<br />

point of view of the royal gardens<br />

and the park itself.<br />

An engraving by Frederic Lose<br />

dated 1826 and entitled Le Tour<br />

dans le jarden, shows the tower<br />

finally completed and exactly<br />

how it is nowdays. Therefore it<br />

can be deduced that the date<br />

of the end of the works was<br />

between 1824 and 1826.<br />

to use numerous topographic<br />

and aerial photography solutions<br />

to create, with various<br />

types of tools and software,<br />

both the interior and the exterior<br />

of the detected structure,<br />

a survey project - from a metric<br />

point of view - extremely<br />

detailed and precise, in order<br />

to obtain the digital twin of the<br />

cultural asset.<br />

To do this, the range of Stonex<br />

laser scanners (X300, X150 and<br />

XH120) from which orthomosaics<br />

of the highest quality and<br />

a reliable survey from a metric<br />

point of view were obtained.<br />

Finally, an aerial photogrammetric<br />

survey of over 230 photos,<br />

carried out with a DJI drone,<br />

completed and integrated the<br />

territorial data with the aerial<br />

photogrammetric data obtained<br />

from the Remotely Piloted Aircraft<br />

System - SAPR.<br />

Given the peculiarity of the<br />

structure - from an architectural<br />

point of view - which presents<br />

decorations and details of<br />

various kinds, the use of three<br />

different types of laser scanners<br />

proved to be extremely<br />

appropriate for the case study:<br />

each laser scanner of the Stonex<br />

it was used for a specific<br />

need, enhancing not only the<br />

properties of the instrument<br />

but also the possibility of collecting<br />

every essential detail<br />

with maximum precision for the<br />

purposes of digital reproduction<br />

of the structure. For example,<br />

the X300 laser scanner from the<br />

Stonex series, given its range of<br />

three hundred meters and its<br />

ability to generate extremely<br />

dense and precise point clouds,<br />

it was used to have an overall<br />

view and to capture details and<br />

decorations of the tower facades,<br />

in all its geometric and<br />

architectural interweavings, on<br />

F<br />

ig. 2 - Aeropho<br />

metric data pr<br />

in Cube-3d.<br />

INTEGRATION OF TERRESTRIAL<br />

AND AEROPHOTOGRAMMETRIC<br />

DATA FOR THE SURVEY OF THE<br />

VISCONTI TOWER<br />

The architectural complexity of<br />

the structure surveyed, although<br />

modest in size, and of the<br />

surrounding space, covered by<br />

vegetation, made it necessary<br />

Fig. 2 - Aerophotogrammetric data processed in Cube-3d.


which to integrate more precise<br />

data coming from other scanners.<br />

The X150 laser scanner is a light<br />

and easy to handle tool with a<br />

minimum range of 20cm and a<br />

maximum of 150m, particularly<br />

suitable for capturing portions<br />

of buildings and detailed elements.<br />

Multi-line Lidar technology<br />

and the ability to obtain<br />

complete coverage of the surrounding<br />

area allow you to process<br />

3D models for a wide range<br />

of applications.<br />

A perfect tool for quick topographic<br />

surveys, scans of building<br />

facades and data collection<br />

for floor plans. In fact, it was<br />

widely used to collect digital information<br />

about the interior of<br />

the Tower as well as some details<br />

of the exterior: the point<br />

clouds generated by the X150<br />

laser scanner were then colored<br />

with a 360 HDR camera integrated<br />

into the instrument itself.<br />

Finally, the XH120 portable laser<br />

with SLAM technology proved to<br />

be a reliable companion for providing<br />

a precision planimetry of<br />

the walls and for detecting the<br />

narrow spaces of the tower. The<br />

SLAM technology and the data<br />

derived from the portable laser<br />

XH120 have made it possible to<br />

carry out excellent integration<br />

and registration between the<br />

point clouds obtained from all<br />

Fig. 3 - Stonex S990A GNSS Receiver with IMU.<br />

the laser scanners used, providing<br />

an overall and integrated<br />

overview of all digital information<br />

collected and returned in<br />

that digital unicum which is its<br />

natural consequence and definition.<br />

All the data collected by laser<br />

scans, whose elaborated and<br />

processed point clouds constitute<br />

the digital twin.<br />

PRECISION GEOREFERENCING<br />

WITH S990A GNSS RECEIVER AND<br />

R20 TOTAL STATION<br />

No topographic survey can - nowadays<br />

- be carried out without<br />

precision georeferencing with<br />

a GNSS receiver and a cuttingedge<br />

Total Station. The topographic<br />

positioning was carried<br />

out with the S990A GNSS receiver<br />

from the Stonex range in<br />

harmony with the R20 total station,<br />

in order to be able to georeference<br />

all the data collected<br />

with maximum precision.<br />

Stonex S990A is an 800-channel<br />

GNSS receiver characterized<br />

by an innovative functionality<br />

that improves the performance<br />

of field investigations. All GNSS<br />

signals (GPS, GLONASS, BEIDOU,<br />

GALILEO, QZSS and IRNSS) are<br />

included, at no additional cost.<br />

The new IMU system allows tilt<br />

measurement (TILT) up to 60°:<br />

fast initialization, fast and precise<br />

detection.<br />

The S990A receiver is equipped<br />

with: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, dual frequency<br />

UHF radio 410-470 MHz<br />

and 902.4-928 MHz. The needs<br />

of each country are supported.<br />

And internal 4G modem that<br />

works with all signals in the<br />

world, a fast Internet connection<br />

is guaranteed.. The internal<br />

10,200 mAh battery allows it<br />

to work for 9 hours and can be<br />

recharged via a Type-C connector.<br />

The color touch display and<br />

web user interface are a quick<br />

and easy way to have complete<br />

control of the receiver.<br />

Thanks to the RTK function<br />

and the Atlas® correction service,<br />

Stonex S990A is also able<br />

to work in particularly difficult<br />

areas. Atlas® provides global<br />

centimeter correction data via<br />

L-Band.<br />

The 1PPS port can be used in<br />

applications that require precise<br />

synchronization time to ensure<br />

multiple instruments work<br />

together.<br />

Stonex S990A with IMU system<br />

makes all measurements reliable,<br />

both surveying and staking<br />

work, and makes the acquisition<br />

of points extremely faster: it is<br />

possible to save up to 40% of<br />

work time in the field.<br />

The S990A GNSS receiver was<br />

also used to measure the GCPs<br />

(Ground Control Points) to be<br />

associated with the aerial photogrammetric<br />

data.<br />

Field software at work in data<br />

collection: stonex cube-a, stonex<br />

reconstructor and Cube-3D<br />

The Stonex Cube-a software was<br />

an excellent ally in field data<br />

collection thanks to its simple<br />

and intuitive interface.<br />

All this data was processed in<br />

the office in the following days<br />

using Cube-desk and Cube-3d<br />

14 ArcheomaticA N°3 <strong>2023</strong>


Cultural Heritage Technology 15<br />

and Stonex Reconstructor software.<br />

Stonex Reconstructor was used<br />

for filtering and recording the<br />

point clouds from Laser Scanner<br />

while with Cube-3d it was possible<br />

to create the final project of<br />

union of all the data collected<br />

since it is able to read a wide<br />

range of formats.<br />

Cube-3d was able to:<br />

• Manage the complete photogrammetric<br />

project (photo,<br />

3D model, orthophoto)<br />

• Import point cloud data from<br />

laser scanners (since it can<br />

handle clouds generated<br />

from any source)<br />

• Import and manage topographic<br />

survey CAD data<br />

(points, polylines, etc.)<br />

The final result confirms that<br />

the integration between TLS<br />

and SLAM data and from aerophotogrammetric<br />

survey allows<br />

to obtain a geometrically reliable<br />

digital 3D model enriched<br />

with color data, perfectly functional<br />

to the needs of the Villa<br />

Reale Park Consortium.<br />

CONCLUSIONS<br />

In recent years, new technologies<br />

have become precious<br />

tools for analyzing the state<br />

of conservation of historic and<br />

architectural buildings. In this<br />

sense, it is now widely established<br />

that geomatic survey<br />

techniques offer solutions that<br />

were unthinkable only a few<br />

years ago for integrated digital<br />

surveys and the documentation<br />

Fig. 4 - Stonex Cube-a Field Software.<br />

of the architectural and artistic<br />

heritage (point based methods,<br />

image-based photogrammetry<br />

and their combination) which,<br />

unlike a Traditional surveys allow<br />

you to save time and have<br />

a high level of accuracy even in<br />

cramped or poorly maintained<br />

structures.<br />

For this reason, laser scanner<br />

and aerial photogrammetry surveys<br />

enhanced by GNSS and total<br />

station positioning systems<br />

can be used to produce detailed<br />

and excellently georeferenced<br />

3D models.<br />

Abstract<br />

In collaboration with the Consorzio<br />

Villa Reale, the topographic,<br />

3D and aerial photogrammetric<br />

surveys of the<br />

Visconti Tower of the Monza<br />

Park were carried out. The<br />

surveys were carried out to<br />

obtain an extremely detailed,<br />

precise and georeferenced 3D<br />

model of the building in order<br />

to produce high-level internal<br />

and external elevations and<br />

floor plans and to obtain a digital<br />

twin of the structure. The<br />

survey is the result of different<br />

survey tools and techniques integrated<br />

together.<br />

Keywords<br />

3D survey; GNSS; georeferencing;<br />

cultural heritage; digital twin<br />

Author<br />

Valentina Baratti<br />

Valentina.baratti@stonex.it<br />

Giada QuerciaGiada.Quercia@<br />

stonex.it<br />

Gianluca Renghini<br />

gianluca.renghini@stonex.it


CASE STUDY<br />

Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper:<br />

Enhanced Uses and New Digital Pathways<br />

by Francesco Gavioli, Eleonora Ligas<br />

Fig.1 - Last Supper Interactive project by Franz Fischnaller in the Deep Space 8K<br />

at the Ars Electronica Center in Linz.<br />

In recent years, the growing field of digital enhancement of the<br />

cultural heritage has seen more and more projects dedicated to the<br />

works and writings of Leonardo da Vinci. Digital Humanities 1 and<br />

Digital Storytelling 2 projects have been conceived and developed to<br />

enhance Leonardo’s masterpieces.<br />

This article offers a survey of some examples of digital<br />

enhancement of Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper where<br />

Haltadefinizione’s ultra-high definition digital image was<br />

used. Starting from the digital storytelling project Last Supper<br />

Interactive, we will examine several instances of uses of these<br />

images. We will also focus on the ultra-high definition digital<br />

acquisition process itself.<br />

LSI - LAST SUPPER INTERACTIVE<br />

One of the most fascinating recent<br />

digital storytelling projects<br />

based on the Last Supper is the<br />

immersive installation LSI - Last<br />

Supper Interactive, on exhibit in<br />

the Deep Space of the Ars Electronica<br />

Center in Linz. LSI is an<br />

8K-3D augmented reality project<br />

that aims to offer a deep understanding<br />

of the Last Supper and<br />

the historical and architectural<br />

context in which this mural painting<br />

was created. The centerpiece<br />

of the project is the ultrahigh<br />

resolution photograph of<br />

Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper,<br />

a 21-billion pixel image composed<br />

of 1042 individual frames,<br />

the result of the digitization<br />

that Haltadefinizione performed<br />

in 2010.<br />

Inside LSI, Franz Fischnaller has<br />

built the Alberti’s Theorem Virtual<br />

Tool (ATVT), an interactive<br />

learning device inspired by the<br />

perspective rules of Leon Battista<br />

Alberti. It shows how Leonardo<br />

applied linear perspective in<br />

the Last Supper. With this tool,<br />

you can observe the painting<br />

from different elevations and<br />

points of view, even from within<br />

the pictorial space. It provides a<br />

unique view of the details and<br />

positions of the apostles at the<br />

table.<br />

16 ArcheomaticA N°3 <strong>2023</strong>


Cultural Heritage Technology 17<br />

The LSI application brings its visitors<br />

right inside the Last Supper<br />

for a full view of its narrative<br />

and symbolism, as well as an understanding<br />

of Leonardo’s use of<br />

linear perspective.<br />

LSI was created in 2019 as a collaboration<br />

between Haltadefinizione,<br />

Professor Franz Fischnaller<br />

and Cineca (Bologna). The<br />

project was updated this year<br />

at Linz with the participation<br />

of the Laboratory of Computer<br />

Vision and Reverse Engineering<br />

of the Polytechnic University of<br />

Milan, which added its 3D digitization<br />

of the monastic complex<br />

of Santa Maria delle Grazie, including<br />

the basilica, the cloister<br />

and the refectory.<br />

THE GIGAPIXEL DIGITIZATION<br />

OF THE LAST SUPPER<br />

At the center of this immersive<br />

experience is the ultra-high definition<br />

‘gigapixel’ image of the<br />

Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci.<br />

In 2007 and 2010, Haltadefinizione<br />

conducted two ultra-high<br />

resolution digital photographic<br />

sessions, in collaboration with<br />

the Lombardy Regional Museum<br />

Directorate and the Museum of<br />

the Last Supper (Museo del Cenacolo<br />

Vinciano). During photography,<br />

the Italian State Center<br />

for Restoration in Rome tested<br />

Haltadefinizione’s equipment<br />

and certified that it is in full<br />

compliance with the current rules<br />

for the protection of the artistic<br />

heritage.<br />

The digital image of the Last<br />

Supper was for many years the<br />

largest one ever made.<br />

Gigapixel images allow you to<br />

explore the smallest details of<br />

this masterpiece, and are an<br />

extraordinary tool for conser-<br />

Fig. 2 - Digitization project of Leonardo’s Last Supper.<br />

vators. An ultra-high resolution<br />

image serves as a benchmark for<br />

planning any conservation efforts.<br />

Restorers and specialists<br />

were able to compare the two<br />

gigapixel images taken three<br />

years apart to monitor the evolution<br />

of the conservation status<br />

of a masterpiece notoriously<br />

subject to degradation due to<br />

Leonardo’s unusual technique 3 .<br />

Historians of Leonardo have described<br />

his mixed technique of<br />

tempera and dry oil on plaster. It<br />

promised a chromatic intensity<br />

and a brilliance of the pigments<br />

that could not have been possible<br />

in fresco. However, only a<br />

few years after its completion,<br />

the technique turned out to be<br />

vulnerable and began to show<br />

the first signs of decay.<br />

Fig. 3 - Leonardo Da Vinci, Last Supper, 1494 - 1498, Dry wall-painting, Basilica di Santa<br />

Maria delle Grazie – Milan<br />

© Haltadefinizione Image Bank | On concession of Ministero della cultura - Direzione<br />

Regionale Musei Lombardia |


INTERACTIVE STORYTELLING<br />

AND A CLOSER LOOK AT DETAILS<br />

From the point of view of valorization<br />

and discovering new<br />

enhanced uses, the goal of these<br />

digitization campaigns was to<br />

make the ultra-high definition<br />

image available online for free,<br />

to enable scholars and art lovers<br />

to admire the Last Supper from<br />

closer then they could ever see<br />

with the naked eye.<br />

Gigapixel images are very large<br />

files that consist of billions of<br />

pixels. To manage them online,<br />

Haltadefinizione uses a Digital<br />

Asset Management (DAM) software<br />

application called Coosmo.<br />

It is designed specifically<br />

for ultra-high definition digital<br />

files and other heavy digital<br />

objects like 3D models. Haltadefinizione<br />

developed it with the<br />

support of Memooria, a leading<br />

company in the supply of software<br />

and hardware for Digital<br />

Humanities.<br />

Using the DAM, specially designed<br />

for the world of cultural<br />

heritage, several collaborative<br />

projects have been made possible<br />

between Haltadefinizione<br />

and DRM Lombardia - the Lombardy<br />

Regional Museum Directorate.<br />

The software has allowed<br />

the Last Supper to be made<br />

available on the website of the<br />

Last Supper Museum (Museo del<br />

Cenacolo Vinciano) with descriptions<br />

that follow the user’s focus<br />

all the down to the individual<br />

brush strokes.<br />

The digital platform is full of<br />

potential for a deeper user<br />

experience, with multimedia<br />

storytelling that can have customizable<br />

paths. The goal is to<br />

broaden people’s knowledge of<br />

the works through this new tool<br />

that allows you to create real<br />

virtual guided tours for a deeper<br />

understanding of digitized masterpieces.<br />

With this in mind, the online<br />

viewing tool lets the user create<br />

interactive narratives based<br />

on the work. For example, at<br />

Easter in 2021, Haltadefinizione<br />

and the Lombardy Regional<br />

Museums Directorate designed<br />

a virtual tour that invited art<br />

lovers and scholars to discover<br />

details on the Last Supper table<br />

setting that are almost invisible<br />

to the naked eye 4 .<br />

To show its use as a teaching<br />

tool, there was also a detailed<br />

study of the iconological meanings<br />

of the objects seen in the<br />

table setting for the Last Supper,<br />

Fig. 4 - Virtual guided tour available on the website of the Cenacolo Vinciano, made<br />

possible through Coosmo, Digital Asset Management (DAM) software for Cultural Heritage<br />

developed by Haltadefinizione.<br />

which made it not only interesting<br />

to the general public but<br />

also useful to specialists.<br />

CONCLUSION<br />

In conclusion, these projects<br />

show how new technologies are<br />

revolutionizing our ways of preserving<br />

and valuing our cultural<br />

heritage. The potential offered<br />

by digital models has brought<br />

about new ways to make use of<br />

great works like this one. It has<br />

also led to an increase in visitor<br />

traffic to the actual site in Milan.<br />

These projects for the digital<br />

enhancement of the Last Supper<br />

were pioneering examples<br />

that have led to a long series of<br />

renovations at one of the most<br />

visited UNESCO sites in Italy. We<br />

hope that, along with with the<br />

project now underway of redesigning<br />

a more sustainable museum<br />

5 , the Lombardy Regional<br />

Museums Directorate will continue<br />

to invest in the digital enhancement<br />

of this extraordinary<br />

site. In this way, they will carry<br />

on the important work of preservation<br />

and dissemination of the<br />

rich cultural heritage of the Last<br />

Supper around the world.<br />

HALTADEFINIZIONE SRL AND<br />

HALTADEFINIZIONE GMBH<br />

Haltadefinizione is a technology<br />

company specialized in the protection<br />

and enhancement of the<br />

historical and artistic heritage<br />

through the realization of digitization<br />

campaigns in ultra-high<br />

definition, 3D and multispectral<br />

surveys.<br />

Thanks to its long experience in<br />

the field of scanning large-format<br />

works (frescoes, paintings,<br />

maps, statues, tapestries, etc.),<br />

the company plans every digital<br />

acquisition in accordance with<br />

18 ArcheomaticA N°3 <strong>2023</strong>


Cultural Heritage Technology 19<br />

the physical conditions and the<br />

location of the work, ensuring<br />

excellent results in all conditions<br />

of photography, without<br />

ever needing to move the works.<br />

Haltadefinizione also applied aerophotogrammetric<br />

survey techniques<br />

with drones to digitize<br />

entire buildings and monuments<br />

of historical and artistic importance.<br />

In addition to the digital acquisition<br />

of works of art in ultra-high<br />

definition, the<br />

Research and Development department<br />

also deals with the engineering<br />

of innovative machines<br />

for gigapixel and 3D photography<br />

and for the production of 3D replicas.<br />

Thanks to the development of<br />

software for the management<br />

and use of ultra-high definition<br />

images, the company offers digital<br />

storage and preservation<br />

services for cultural heritage<br />

through Coosmo, its Digital Asset<br />

Management service. Specifically<br />

designed for the management<br />

of large quantities of digital assets,<br />

it is compatible with the<br />

IIIF Image and Presentation API<br />

and is flexible and adaptable<br />

to different needs such as protection,<br />

conservation and open<br />

source code.<br />

In November 2022, Haltadefinizione<br />

opened a branch in<br />

Germany, to reach out to the<br />

international market, providing<br />

its technological expertise and<br />

exclusive services to museums<br />

around the world. The objective,<br />

also at the European level,<br />

remains the protection and enhancement<br />

of cultural institutions<br />

and the promotion and<br />

dissemination of our cultural heritage<br />

through digital transformation<br />

projects.<br />

Endnotes<br />

1 A notable example that combines the digitization of Leonardo's<br />

writings and their publication within an innovative model of a<br />

digital library is the project Leonardo//Thek@-Codex Atlanticus,<br />

curated by the Galileo Museum in Florence, cf. Galluzzi, P. (2022)<br />

Leonardo//thek@ 1.0: a digital infrastructure to avoid being<br />

shipwrecked in the ocean of data of the Codex Atlanticus, in Galluzzi<br />

P., Nova A. (ed. by) Decoding Leonardo's codices: Compilation,<br />

dispersal, and reproduction technologies, Venezia: Marsilio.<br />

Regarding the extended bibliography on Digital Humanities, see<br />

Tomasi F. (2022) Organizzare la conoscenza: digital humanities<br />

e web semantico: un percorso tra archivi, biblioteche e musei,<br />

Milano: Editrice bibliografica, Previtali G. (2022) Che cosa sono le<br />

digital humanities, Carocci, Roma, Ciotti F. (ed. by) (<strong>2023</strong>) Digital<br />

Humanities: Metodi, strumenti, saperi, Roma: Carocci.<br />

2 Regarding digital storytelling projects related to Leonardo's<br />

works, see Marani P. C., Apollonio F. I., Gaiani M., Barsanti R.<br />

(2022) Dentro i disegni: tecnologie virtuali per la fruizione dell’opera<br />

grafica di Leonardo da Vinci, in Costa S., Cordera P., Poulot<br />

D. (ed. by) Storytelling. Esperienze e comunicazione del Cultural<br />

Heritage, Bologna: Bologna University Press.<br />

3 Measures were undertaken to address the fragility of the artwork<br />

during the most recent extensive restoration intervention,<br />

cf. Brambilla Barcilon P., Il restauro, in Brambilla Barcilon P., Marani<br />

P. C. (1999) Leonardo. L'Ultima Cena, Milano: Electa.<br />

4 The virtual tour is available on the website of the Cenacolo Vinciano<br />

at the following link: https://cenacolovinciano.org/ultimacena-percorso-halta/<br />

5 Regarding the transformation project for the visitors’ itinerary<br />

at the physical site, please refer to https://cenacolovinciano.<br />

org/en/news-ed-eventi/new-visitors-itinerary-and-new-spacesat-the-museum-of-leonardos-last-supper/<br />

Bibliography<br />

Brambilla Barcilon P., Marani P. C. (1999) Leonardo. L'Ultima<br />

Cena, Milano: Electa.<br />

Ciotti F. (ed. by) (<strong>2023</strong>) Digital Humanities: Metodi, strumenti,<br />

saperi, Roma: Carocci.<br />

Costa S., Cordera P., Poulot D. (ed. by) (2022) Storytelling.<br />

Esperienze e comunicazione del Cultural Heritage, Bologna:<br />

Bologna University Press.<br />

Galluzzi P. (2022) Leonardo//thek@ 1.0: a digital infrastructure<br />

to avoid being shipwrecked in the ocean of data of the<br />

Codex Atlanticus, in Galluzzi P., Nova A. (ed. by), Decoding<br />

Leonardo's codices: Compilation, dispersal, and reproduction<br />

technologies, Venezia: Marsilio.<br />

Marani P. C., Apollonio F. I., Gaiani M., Barsanti R. (2022) Dentro<br />

i disegni: tecnologie virtuali per la fruizione dell’opera<br />

grafica di Leonardo da Vinci, in<br />

Costa S., Cordera P., Poulot D. (ed. by) Storytelling. Esperienze<br />

e comunicazione del Cultural Heritage, Bologna: Bologna<br />

University Press.<br />

Occhipinti C. (2020) Cloni di Leonardo: scritti su arte, umanesimo<br />

e tecnologia, Roma: Dei Merangoli.<br />

Previtali G. (2022) Che cosa sono le digital humanities, Roma:<br />

Carocci.<br />

Tomasi F. (2022) Organizzare la conoscenza: digital humanities<br />

e web semantico: un percorso tra archivi, biblioteche e musei,<br />

Milano: Editrice bibliografica.<br />

Website Bibliography<br />

https://www.openculture.com/2017/07/leonardo-da-vincisvisionary-notebooks-now-online-browse-570-digitized-pages.html<br />

https://www.openculture.com/2018/08/leonardo-da-vincis-earliest-notebooks-now-digitized-and-made-free-online.<br />

html#google_vignette<br />

https://www.openculture.com/2019/05/a-complete-digitization-of-leonardo-da-vincis-codex-atlanticus.html<br />

http://codex-atlanticus.ambrosiana.it<br />

https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/sdh/article/<br />

view/27719/35525<br />

https://franz-fischnaller.com/last-supper-interactive-by-franzfischnaller/<br />

Abstract<br />

The article aims to explore recent opportunities for the digital<br />

enhancement of Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper made possible<br />

through the gigapixel image acquired by Haltadefinizione. The<br />

analysis begins with an analysis of the immersive project LSI<br />

- Last Supper Interactive, recently presented at the Ars Electronica<br />

Center in Linz. Subsequently, it explores collaborations<br />

between Haltadefinizione and the Museo del Cenacolo Vinciano,<br />

which have revolutionized online accessibility to the masterpiece<br />

through engaging paths of interactive storytelling.<br />

Keywords<br />

Digitization; Gigapixel; Enhancement of cultural heritage;<br />

Conservation; Leonardo da Vinci<br />

Author<br />

Francesco Gavioli, Digital Humanities Specialist,<br />

Haltadefinizione<br />

francesco.gavioli@haltadefinizione.com<br />

Eleonora Ligas, Art Historian, Haltadefinizione<br />

eleonora.ligas@haltadefinizione.com


CASE STUDY<br />

SyncHolo: Holograms<br />

in the World of Art<br />

by Paola Rocca, Caterina Rai, Camilla di Giacomo<br />

The use of holograms<br />

in exhibition design<br />

and the new frontier of<br />

inclusive communication<br />

to the public: how<br />

holograms enrich the<br />

cultural experience and<br />

how digital technology<br />

synthesizes the analog<br />

into experiences that<br />

amplify the perception of<br />

art and its meaning.<br />

When introduced to the topic of holograms for the<br />

first time, one's mind may wander to a diverse archive<br />

of pop culture and science fiction, transporting<br />

us to the distant worlds of Star Wars or Star Trek, or to the<br />

advertisements from Back to the Future. At first glance, holograms<br />

appear as nothing more than a fantasy, a glimpse into<br />

a technology seemingly too advanced for our time. However,<br />

enthusiasts know that the era of holograms has begun, and<br />

we are already engaged in an ongoing technological pursuit.<br />

Experts in the field are aware that technology's evolution has<br />

impressively expanded the horizons of hologram applications.<br />

HOLOGRAMS: BACK TO BASICS<br />

Holograms are 3D images achievable through a variety of<br />

technologies that differ in type and use. From holographic<br />

smoke to Pepper's Ghost projectors, which suffer from complex<br />

setup limitations and sensitivity to space and lighting<br />

20 ArcheomaticA N°3 <strong>2023</strong>


Cultural Heritage Technology 21<br />

conditions. There are also pyramid<br />

systems, holographic screens,<br />

semi-transparent OLED<br />

screens, and rotating mirrors,<br />

all constrained by their inherently<br />

limited scale. One of the<br />

most established technologies,<br />

however, relies on one or more<br />

LED projection blades to create<br />

a floating image with remarkable<br />

detail and exponential size<br />

potential. The end result is a high-quality<br />

image, up to 4k resolution,<br />

projected using technology<br />

that enhances its impact<br />

through animations and previously<br />

unseen visual effects.<br />

3D HOLOGRAPHIC PROJECTION<br />

AND ITS DISRUPTIVE EFFECT ON<br />

THE MARKET<br />

SyncHolo has embraced the<br />

concept of holography, providing<br />

solutions based on 3D holographic<br />

projection devices tailored<br />

to various market sectors.<br />

It enhances the perception of<br />

products and displayed items,<br />

amplifying the overall perceptual<br />

experience. Developed by<br />

Sync Lab, a leading company in<br />

advanced software solutions and<br />

technological consulting, dedicated<br />

to an ongoing process of<br />

value-driven design and implementation,<br />

SyncHolo is an innovative<br />

solution centered around<br />

3D technology. It was born in<br />

2019 within the Research and<br />

Development laboratory at the<br />

ComoNExT Innovation Hub and<br />

emerged as a key player in the<br />

technological evolution, using<br />

holograms to communicate<br />

high-impact content and open<br />

up to an ever-expanding range<br />

of market sectors, positioning<br />

itself as a major market player<br />

during the pandemic.<br />

THE HOLOGRAM CONCEPT<br />

IN DIFFERENT CONTEXTS<br />

Holograms break through the<br />

fourth wall of language, introducing<br />

innovative and unconventional<br />

approaches to threedimensional<br />

communication.<br />

They revolutionize the content<br />

consumption system, becoming<br />

increasingly disruptive not only<br />

in digitally-oriented fields like<br />

retail and commerce but also in<br />

museums, fashion, luxury, and<br />

major events.<br />

A 3D hologram system, achieved<br />

through one or more LED<br />

projection blades, creates a holographic<br />

image that seems to<br />

float in space, reaching significant<br />

dimensions and captivating<br />

attention far more effectively<br />

than most other media. Today,<br />

this technology represents the<br />

bridging of the digital-analog<br />

gap, achieving a complete synthesis.<br />

BEAUTIFUL AND SIMPLE<br />

In a world where "complex" is<br />

often equated with "complicated,"<br />

SyncHolo distinguishes itself<br />

with its straightforward and


unobtrusive configurations and<br />

installations that seamlessly<br />

integrate with exhibition spaces.<br />

Requiring minimal space,<br />

it can be wall-mounted, placed<br />

on a pedestal, or positioned<br />

inside showcases and display<br />

windows, allowing observation<br />

from any angle or distance. Easily<br />

transportable compared to<br />

first-generation holographic displays,<br />

it is designed with a promotional<br />

strategy that connects<br />

with consumers innovatively, interactively,<br />

and engagingly.<br />

SyncHolo and the World of Art:<br />

Redefining Inclusive Communication<br />

in Museums and Exhibitions<br />

SyncHolo represents the<br />

new frontier of open communication<br />

with the public within<br />

the museum and exhibition environment,<br />

harnessing the visual<br />

power of holograms to enhance<br />

content within museums<br />

and offer visitors unforgettable<br />

experiences.<br />

Leveraging 3D technology to<br />

promote culture, enabling a<br />

more profound understanding<br />

of artworks and their meanings<br />

through dynamic and faithful<br />

reproductions, is a fundamental<br />

element of contemporary<br />

exhibition design. Enriching<br />

exhibition spaces with historical<br />

figures, monuments, and<br />

artworks is now possible, whether<br />

in museums, art galleries,<br />

archaeological sites, churches,<br />

or basilicas. Visitors can immediately<br />

connect with history and<br />

art, transforming a visit into a<br />

highly engaging and animated<br />

experience.<br />

The ability to transcend the<br />

two-dimensionality of images,<br />

reproduce sculptures in their<br />

original form, and replace missing<br />

artworks by making them<br />

three-dimensional are just a<br />

few of the operational areas in<br />

which SyncHolo enhances the<br />

experiential impact of the art<br />

world. Its cross-disciplinary expertise<br />

has promoted innovation<br />

and historical reconstruction in<br />

cultural contexts, making them<br />

more accessible to an increasingly<br />

diverse audience across various<br />

levels of information and<br />

curiosity.<br />

Unlike other holographic<br />

projection solutions, SyncHolo's<br />

LED-based technology is not affected<br />

by ambient lighting conditions<br />

and, thanks to advanced<br />

graphic rendering capabilities,<br />

can replicate artworks in their<br />

natural lighting. As a result, it<br />

performs exceptionally well in<br />

outdoor environments, even offering<br />

waterproof options.<br />

THE PERFORMANCE<br />

What distinguishes SyncHolo is<br />

its scalable solution, which allows<br />

the creation of customized<br />

reproductions for the museum<br />

space, from small fan displays<br />

to potential wall installations<br />

that offer complete coverage.<br />

This technology is also incredibly<br />

versatile, providing realtime<br />

and interactive solutions.<br />

Museums where Dante recites<br />

the Divine Comedy, interactive<br />

artwork that answers questions<br />

and tells its story, and educational<br />

projects in school and academic<br />

environments have limitless<br />

possibilities.<br />

THE KEY ELEMENTS OF THIS IN-<br />

DEPTH EXPERTISE<br />

Designing a realistic and highperformance<br />

product requires<br />

advanced skills. The SyncHolo<br />

development team consists of<br />

22 ArcheomaticA N°3 <strong>2023</strong>


Cultural Heritage Technology 23<br />

3D artists with a conceptually<br />

versatile approach, ensuring<br />

full alignment with requests and<br />

contexts, with specialized expertise<br />

in rendering and 3D modeling.<br />

Their work results in video<br />

productions that go beyond<br />

the "wow factor," generating holograms<br />

that faithfully reproduce<br />

all the details of the subject,<br />

enhancing the user's emotional<br />

and cognitive experience. With<br />

support from industry-leading<br />

software and advanced technology,<br />

the solution combines video<br />

creation and development<br />

with the mechanics of blade-based<br />

LED technology, using testing<br />

and visual optimization to create<br />

immersive 3D experiences that<br />

get users into their magic.<br />

EXPANDING HORIZONS<br />

THROUGH HOLOGRAPHIC ART<br />

The impact of SyncHolo reaches<br />

far beyond the world of<br />

art and culture. As this cuttingedge<br />

technology gains momentum,<br />

its influence extends to<br />

various sectors, including entertainment<br />

and marketing.<br />

The entertainment industry is<br />

already exploring the immense<br />

potential of holographic performances:<br />

with SyncHolo, artists<br />

can create mesmerizing, threedimensional<br />

spectacles that<br />

transport audiences to entirely<br />

new realms of creativity. Whether<br />

it's a live concert, theater<br />

production, or a virtual presence<br />

at events, this technology<br />

opens doors to uncharted territories<br />

in entertainment.<br />

Marketing and advertising are<br />

another arena where SyncHolo's<br />

holographic prowess can't<br />

be overlooked. Imagine walking<br />

down a shopping street and<br />

being greeted by virtual brand<br />

ambassadors and interactive<br />

product showcases: SyncHolo<br />

enables advertisers to engage<br />

consumers in ways that were<br />

once reserved for sci-fi fantasies.<br />

It's a paradigm shift that<br />

disrupts traditional advertising<br />

methods and captivates consumers<br />

with innovative and memorable<br />

experiences.<br />

THE POWER OF CONNECTION<br />

In an age where the digital landscape<br />

constantly evolves, SyncHolo<br />

stands as a testament to<br />

the power of technology to create<br />

connections. It transcends<br />

the boundaries of physical space,<br />

allowing people to interact<br />

with art, history, education,<br />

entertainment, and marketing<br />

in profoundly engaging ways. As<br />

SyncHolo continues to push the<br />

boundaries of what holographic<br />

technology can achieve, it redefines<br />

our relationship with<br />

the world around us. In this new<br />

era of holographic art and immersive<br />

experiences, the possibilities<br />

are limitless, and the<br />

future is brimming with exciting<br />

prospects.<br />

SHAPING THE FUTURE OF<br />

ART AND CULTURE WITH<br />

HOLOGRAMS<br />

The fusion of technology and<br />

creativity that SyncHolo represents<br />

is not just a testament to<br />

innovation but also a reflection<br />

of our evolving cultural landscape.<br />

As society continues to<br />

adapt to the digital age, the lines<br />

between physical and virtual<br />

experiences blur. SyncHolo's role<br />

in bridging this gap demonstrates<br />

the importance of staying at<br />

the forefront of technological<br />

advancements while preserving<br />

the authenticity of art and culture.<br />

It underscores the capacity<br />

of technology to enhance our<br />

understanding and appreciation<br />

of the world, ushering in a new<br />

era where art and culture can<br />

be shared, celebrated, and cherished<br />

in ways we never before<br />

imagined. With SyncHolo leading<br />

the way, the future of holograms<br />

in art and beyond holds<br />

the promise of uncharted horizons,<br />

where imagination knows<br />

no bounds.<br />

Abstract<br />

The use of holograms in exhibition<br />

design and the new frontier<br />

of inclusive communication to the<br />

public: how holograms enrich the<br />

cultural experience and how digital<br />

technology synthesizes the<br />

analog into experiences that amplify<br />

the perception of art and its<br />

meaning.<br />

When introduced to the topic<br />

of holograms for the first time,<br />

one's mind may wander to a diverse<br />

archive of pop culture and<br />

science fiction, transporting us to<br />

the distant worlds of Star Wars<br />

or Star Trek, or to the advertisements<br />

from Back to the Future.<br />

At first glance, holograms appear<br />

as nothing more than a fantasy,<br />

a glimpse into a technology seemingly<br />

too advanced for our time.<br />

However, enthusiasts know that<br />

the era of holograms has begun,<br />

and we are already engaged in an<br />

ongoing technological pursuit. Experts<br />

in the field are aware that<br />

technology's evolution has impressively<br />

expanded the horizons of<br />

hologram applications.<br />

Keywords<br />

Holograms; cultural heritage; digital<br />

technologies; museums; art<br />

Author<br />

Paolo Rocca<br />

paolo.rocca@synclab.it<br />

Caterina Rai<br />

caterina.rai@synclab.it<br />

Camilla di Giacomo<br />

camilla.digiacomo@synclab.it


MUSUEMS<br />

Innovative solutions for the<br />

fruition of Cultural Heritage:<br />

VALUE<br />

By Antonino Lopes, Angelo Aiello, Luca Falzone, Viola Massa<br />

Digital evolution leads to<br />

important changes on the ways<br />

cultural services are offered<br />

and on the visitor’s role who,<br />

in certain cases, has the<br />

possibility to interact firsthand<br />

with the artwork.<br />

The VALUE solution offers an<br />

innovative method of cultural<br />

enjoyment based on Mixed<br />

Reality technologies which turn<br />

the visit into an immersive and<br />

Fig.1 - Demonstrative image of a user using VALUE.<br />

emotional experience.<br />

The digital revolution has<br />

contributed to radically<br />

change the supply of<br />

goods and services across all<br />

market sectors. The spread of<br />

technological innovations has<br />

also brought substantial changes<br />

within the Cultural Heritage<br />

sector, improving the experience<br />

offered to the public.<br />

Today’s new technologies allow<br />

the implementation of innovative<br />

solutions capable not only<br />

of engaging users in a direct and<br />

stimulating way, but also of offering<br />

the artistic product in a<br />

completely different mode.<br />

Just think of the possibilities offered<br />

by the so-called eXtended<br />

Reality (XR) which allows entire<br />

environments or individual works<br />

to be recreated in their original<br />

state even in those cases<br />

where the assets are not physically<br />

observable or accessible.<br />

Innovative solutions are not only<br />

limited to improving the visit experience<br />

but are a valid tool for<br />

breaking down social barriers; in<br />

fact, thanks to these technologies,<br />

it’s now possible to allow<br />

even users with disabilities to<br />

get complete tours.<br />

Within this context, VALUE (Visual<br />

Analysis for Localization and<br />

Understanding of Environments)<br />

is born, an innovative project<br />

that revolutionizes the visiting<br />

experience within museum spaces<br />

using specific technologies<br />

and digital tools. The service can<br />

be used by means of wearable<br />

devices (for example Microsoft<br />

HoloLens 2). On these devices,<br />

information content is presented<br />

in Mixed Reality, multimedia<br />

elements superimposed on the<br />

surrounding reality that allow<br />

26 ArcheomaticA N°3 <strong>2023</strong>


Cultural Heritage Technology 27<br />

the user to live a unique and<br />

engaging experience.<br />

Through VALUE it’s possible to<br />

imagine interaction scenarios<br />

with monuments, archaeological<br />

finds and works of art<br />

virtually reproduced and visible<br />

through augmented reality<br />

headsets.<br />

VALUE is also configured as<br />

a valid tool for analysing the<br />

preferences and degree of<br />

satisfaction of a visitor for<br />

benefiting the museum structure.<br />

To this aim, the system<br />

is able to anonymously collect<br />

data on the visiting preferences,<br />

implicitly expressed by<br />

the visitor through his stay in<br />

some rooms or in the intensive<br />

viewing of some works.<br />

This provides the managing<br />

body with statistical analyses<br />

to improve the organization of<br />

its cultural site (use of spaces,<br />

distribution of service staff,<br />

etc.), and, at the same time,<br />

improve the experience offered<br />

to the visitor.<br />

From the analysis of the observed<br />

works, the system will autonomously<br />

identify visitors'<br />

preferences and will be able<br />

to offer "cultural recommendations"<br />

on other works on the<br />

same site that may be of interest<br />

and will provide proposals<br />

(commercial suggestions)<br />

for the purchase of objects,<br />

souvenirs, books and so on,<br />

available in the museum bookshop.<br />

The development and testing<br />

phases of VALUE were conducted<br />

by examining the painting<br />

Annunciation by Antonello<br />

da Messina. The work carried<br />

out has made it possible to<br />

offer the visitor not only the<br />

Fig.2 - Annunciazione (by Antonello da Messina), oil on panel 180x180 cm, located at<br />

Palazzo Bellomo in Syracuse.<br />

Fig.3 - Demonstrative image of a visitor using the VALUE solution to access detailed information<br />

regarding the capital present in the Annunciation painting by Antonello da Messina.


ight colors of the foreground<br />

of the painting, a detail of Flemish<br />

inspiration and testimony<br />

to the influence of Jan van Eyck,<br />

a Flemish artist known by Antonello<br />

da Messina in Naples during<br />

his training (Bove, 2018).<br />

Fig.4 - Avatar of Antonello da Messina created for the VALUE solution. By wearing the<br />

viewers, users can interact with the hologram and listen to information and descriptions<br />

of the painting directly from the artist of the artwork.<br />

opportunity to appreciate the<br />

peculiarities of the painting in<br />

detail, with a fine analysis of<br />

the artwork’s, but also to listen<br />

to the descriptions narrated by<br />

an exceptional guide, the author<br />

himself, Antonello da Messina,<br />

reproduced in “flesh and blood”<br />

in a digital version thanks to virtual<br />

reality. Once the smart glasses<br />

are worn, the user will be<br />

able to interact with the author's<br />

avatar and with the surrounding<br />

environment and discover information<br />

and details about the<br />

painting in an innovative way.<br />

The VALUE project has been developed<br />

with funds from Regione<br />

Sicilia via the PO FESR 2014/2020<br />

– Line 1.1.5. – initiative (Support<br />

for the technological advancement<br />

of companies through the<br />

financing of pilot lines and early<br />

product validation actions and<br />

large-scale demonstrations).<br />

CASE STUDY<br />

L'Annunciazione (Annunciation)<br />

by Antonello da Messina is an oil<br />

on wooden panel painting dated<br />

1474 and exhibited in the Regional<br />

Gallery of Palazzo Bellomo in<br />

Syracuse. Commissioned by the<br />

priest Giuliano Manjuni of Palazzolo<br />

Acreide (Bove, 2018), news<br />

of the work was lost until 1897<br />

when it was rediscovered by Enrico<br />

Mauceri.<br />

The scene represents the moment<br />

of the annunciation inside<br />

a room full of details, some of<br />

which were lost following the<br />

traumatic transfer from the panel<br />

to the canvas, an operation<br />

necessary due to the poor conditions<br />

of the wooden support<br />

(La Mendola, s.d.). The humidity<br />

has in fact led to significant deterioration<br />

which has subjected<br />

the representation to various<br />

restorations over time, essential<br />

to prevent further damage. The<br />

protagonists of the depiction are<br />

the archangel Gabriel on the left<br />

and the virgin Mary on the right.<br />

Great attention to architectural<br />

details such as the ceiling beams<br />

and details of the false ceiling.<br />

In the background of the windows<br />

that justify the light and<br />

TECHNOLOGIES<br />

VALUE's great innovation is represented<br />

by Mixed Reality<br />

(MR). Through the wearable<br />

device, the visitor can observe<br />

virtual objects superimposed on<br />

the surrounding reality and interact<br />

with them, experiencing<br />

a unique and engaging experience.<br />

MR applications integrate<br />

holograms, virtual elements<br />

extremely similar to tangible<br />

physical objects, into the real<br />

environment. Holograms can be<br />

defined as virtual objects composed<br />

of light and sound (Coulter,<br />

et al., <strong>2023</strong>).<br />

To guarantee a 360° immersive<br />

experience, therefore, the positioning<br />

of these virtual objects<br />

must be carried out with great<br />

precision and verisimilitude. The<br />

mechanism that allows you to<br />

draw a hologram and position it<br />

in a specific area with respect to<br />

the environment is called holographic<br />

rendering .<br />

The technologies developed in<br />

VALUE, the studies of the painting<br />

and the historical period of<br />

its creation, made it possible<br />

to conduct a peculiar analysis<br />

which led to the creation of a<br />

hologram of the artist Antonello<br />

da Messina. Once the smart glasses<br />

are worn, the avatar guides<br />

the visitor to discover the painting,<br />

the details, the curiosities<br />

and the history that has brought<br />

the painting up to the present<br />

day.<br />

28 ArcheomaticA N°3 <strong>2023</strong>


Cultural Heritage Technology 29<br />

The device adopted for the development<br />

of the solution was<br />

Microsoft HoloLens 2, a viewer<br />

that can be considered a holographic<br />

computer capable of integrating<br />

the virtual world with<br />

the real world.<br />

One of the characteristics of<br />

the device is precisely the ability<br />

to start spatial mapping processes<br />

that allow you to obtain<br />

an analysis of real surfaces and<br />

thus position holograms and<br />

contextualized virtual objects<br />

within the identified areas.<br />

Key principles for hologram control<br />

include Position, Occlusion<br />

and Physics.<br />

Position - By applying the principle<br />

of position it becomes possible<br />

to delineate suitable and unsuitable<br />

areas for the positioning<br />

of holograms.<br />

Occlusion – Occlusion is the<br />

aspect that profoundly affects<br />

the user's perception, convincing<br />

him of the effective integration<br />

of holograms into the real world.<br />

Physics – Applying this principle<br />

makes the user experience even<br />

more realistic. For example, by<br />

applying the laws of gravity to a<br />

falling hologram, the sensation<br />

perceived by the user will be<br />

even more integrated and harmonious<br />

compared to the real<br />

environment.<br />

The VALUE solution is the result<br />

of the implementation of multiple<br />

technologies which combined,<br />

offer a product of cultural<br />

enjoyment with a great emotional<br />

impact. The technologies<br />

contained in the solution can be<br />

summarized as follows:<br />

4Computer Vision: Recognition<br />

of observed environments and<br />

objects.<br />

4Machine Learning: Data<br />

Fig. 5 - Demonstration event open to the public of the VALUE solution, Wednesday 31 May<br />

<strong>2023</strong> at Palazzo di Bellomo in Syracuse.<br />

analysis for improving recognition<br />

algorithms.<br />

4Behavioral Analysis: Identification<br />

of user paths and preferences.<br />

4Eye Tracking: Use of eye tracking<br />

to identify the details of<br />

a work observed by the user.<br />

4Speech Recognition: Interaction<br />

with a conversational<br />

agent using natural language.<br />

DEVELOPMENTS<br />

AND APPLICATIONS<br />

In a context in which the visitor<br />

is the main actor of the visit experience,<br />

technology becomes<br />

the fundamental means through<br />

which to optimize the use of a<br />

service.<br />

Even though visitors show more<br />

and more consensus regarding<br />

the possibility of enjoying a cultural<br />

asset through innovative<br />

systems, in Italy the entities that<br />

adopt new technologies are not<br />

only still few, but in most cases,<br />

they marginally integrate new<br />

technologies into their offer, not<br />

adopting complete solutions like<br />

those described above.<br />

Computer Vision is in fact one of<br />

the most promising technologies,<br />

especially within market sectors<br />

that offer services with a high<br />

emotional impact (Redazione<br />

Osservatori Digital Innovation,<br />

<strong>2023</strong>). Thanks to technology, the<br />

museum structure improves the<br />

quality of what is offered to the<br />

public, providing more dynamic<br />

and complete information, capable<br />

of bringing the public closer<br />

to the artwork and providing<br />

information that will be remembered<br />

more over time.<br />

In its testing phases with the<br />

public, the VALUE solution aroused<br />

strong interest among the<br />

majority of visitors sample. In<br />

particular, the public was more<br />

attracted to the solution and the<br />

possibility of being able to access<br />

historical-cultural contents


through a different methodology.<br />

Following the visit experience,<br />

almost all of the sample<br />

was fully satisfied and declared<br />

that they had learned more information<br />

than they would have<br />

done with traditional audio guides.<br />

The solution developed to date<br />

is scalable, customizable, usable<br />

both from wearable devices<br />

and from Smartphones and Tablets<br />

and considering the cultural<br />

heritage sector, the application<br />

possibilities are numerous.<br />

Regardless of the nature of the<br />

cultural asset considered, in<br />

fact, the technology developed<br />

in VALUE finds great application<br />

in this sector. Interactive tours,<br />

characters that come to life,<br />

time travel, instant sharing and<br />

personalized experiences are<br />

just a few examples of how the<br />

solution can be implemented in<br />

different scenarios.<br />

Bibliography<br />

Bove, L. (2018, novembre 5). L’Annunciazione<br />

di Antonello da Messina, un capolavoro<br />

nato a Palazzolo. Tratto da https://palazzoloacreide.italiani.it:<br />

https://palazzoloacreide.italiani.it/annunciazione-di-antonelloda-messina/<br />

Coulter, D., Ferrone, H., Mollis, A., Narva,<br />

N., Sherer, T., Tieto, V., . . . v-chmccl. (<strong>2023</strong>,<br />

luglio 12). Che cos'è un ologramma? Tratto<br />

da https://learn.microsoft.com: https://<br />

learn.microsoft.com/it-it/windows/mixedreality/discover/hologram<br />

La Mendola, D. O. (s.d.). La vicenda dell’Annunciazione<br />

di Antonello da Messina. Tratto<br />

da https://www.rivistasegno.eu: https://<br />

www.rivistasegno.eu/la-vicenda-dellannunciazione-di-antonello-da-messina/<br />

Redazione Osservatori Digital Innovation.<br />

(<strong>2023</strong>, aprile 10). Computer Vision: definizione,<br />

funzionamento e applicazioni. Tratto<br />

da https://blog.osservatori.net: https://<br />

blog.osservatori.net/it_it/computer-visiondefinizione-applicazioni<br />

Tieto, V., Turner, A., & v-chmccl. (<strong>2023</strong>, luglio<br />

12). Panoramica del rendering olografico.<br />

Tratto da https://learn.microsoft.com:<br />

https://learn.microsoft.com/it-it/windows/<br />

mixed-reality/develop/advanced-concepts/<br />

rendering-overview<br />

Abstract<br />

The digital revolution has helped to<br />

radically change perspective in the<br />

provisioning of goods and services in all<br />

market sectors. In the CH business, people<br />

visit's approach has substantially<br />

changed, with the introduction of new<br />

enabling technology, i.e., Artificial Intelligence<br />

and related technologies like<br />

Computer Vision, Machine Learning,<br />

eXstended Reality, etc. The digital evolution,<br />

by modifying the process of providing<br />

the cultural services, determines<br />

important changes both in the ways of<br />

using the asset and in the role of the<br />

visitor, who more often has the possibility<br />

of interacting firsthand with the<br />

cultural artworks.<br />

The VALUE project provides a different<br />

cultural fruition method, based on the<br />

use of mixed reality technologies capable<br />

of making the visit a unique emotional<br />

experience.<br />

Keywords<br />

Mixed reality; Machine learning; Augmented<br />

Reality; Cultural Heritage; Computer Vision.<br />

Author<br />

Antonino Lopes<br />

Angelo Aiello<br />

Luca Falzone<br />

Viola Massa<br />

info@xeniaprogetti.it<br />

Xenia Progetti S.r.l.<br />

30 ArcheomaticA N°3 <strong>2023</strong>


CHNT28<br />

Cultural Heritage Technology 31<br />

Conference on Cultural Heritage and New Technologies<br />

November, 15 - 17 <strong>2023</strong> | Vienna, Austria<br />

Cultural Heritage as a Resource<br />

Technologies for the Paradigm Shift in Archaeology, Conservation and Education<br />

Call for Papers: April 15 to June 30<br />

Notification: from July 14<br />

Early Bird Tickets: until October 18<br />

The association CHNT-ICOMOS Austria was founded<br />

in early 2021 to organise the annual Conference<br />

on Cultural Heritage and New Technologies. It is<br />

a sister association of the Austrian National Committee<br />

of the International Council on Monuments<br />

and Sites (ICOMOS). The association has around 20<br />

members who contribute to the continuous<br />

development of the conference and participate<br />

intensively in the preparations.<br />

The City of Vienna (Department 7 – Cultural<br />

Affairs) is the association’s cooperation partner and<br />

is hosting the event in the Vienna City Hall.<br />

CHNT28: November 15 - 17<br />

CHNT provides a platform for exchanging views on<br />

the Cultural Heritage protection agenda and enables<br />

discussions among colleagues from a wide<br />

range of disciplines. During the conference the<br />

latest approaches to the research, management<br />

and monitoring of world heritage sites, cultural<br />

assets and archaeological monuments will be<br />

presented. The focus is primarily on interdisciplinary<br />

cooperation between experts with a strong<br />

interest in the application of new<br />

technologies in the field of cultural heritage.<br />

This year at CHNT we will be looking at how to<br />

change the way we perceive and handle upcoming<br />

challenges and crises while focusing on archaeology<br />

and cultural heritage as a resource.<br />

CALL FOR PAPERS<br />

The CHNT Committee invites you to submit a contribution<br />

in the form of a long abstract that relate to<br />

a specific session (lecture of max. 20 minutes) or<br />

round table (short talks of about 5 to 10 minutes).<br />

In addition, you can participate in various panels<br />

and workshops.<br />

Please find further information online:<br />

www.chnt.at/call-for-papers<br />

Presenters and session chairs who participated in<br />

CHNT 28 have the possibility to publish their contributions<br />

in the proceedings of the conference.<br />

The Call is open from April 15 to June 30, <strong>2023</strong>!<br />

„We believe that technology can make a difference and help to protect,<br />

research and valorize Cultural Heritage in a sustainable way<br />

and to thereby preserve it for the next generation.“<br />

CHNT-ICOMOS Austria • Karlsplatz 13, 1040 Vienna • www.chnt.at • info@chnt.at


ENTERPRISES<br />

exercises will also take place<br />

with Autodesk ReCap, a particularly<br />

powerful low cost product,<br />

and the most recent tools<br />

developed within SfM Agisoft<br />

Metashape for terrain classification,<br />

the integration of Laser<br />

Scanner point clouds in the<br />

same software environment as<br />

Metashape. The procedures for<br />

filtering vegetation from laser<br />

scanner, aerophotogrammetric<br />

and LiDAR data will also be described<br />

through the Open Source<br />

tool FUSION - United States Department<br />

of Agriculture.<br />

A TRAINING COURSE DEDI-<br />

CATED TO DIGITAL PHOTO-<br />

GRAMMETRY AND THREE-DI-<br />

MENSIONAL SURVEYING: RE-<br />

GISTRATIONS OPEN FOR "3D<br />

SURVEYING AND POINT CLOUD<br />

MANAGEMENT" BASIC AND<br />

ADVANCED MODULES<br />

A highly professional training<br />

course, for years a point of<br />

reference for teaching technique<br />

and effectiveness, that<br />

TerreLogiche Training has built<br />

for those who want to expand<br />

their knowledge in the field of<br />

digital photogrammetry and three-dimensional<br />

surveying. The<br />

basic course "3D photogrammetric<br />

survey and point cloud management"<br />

will be held on 20,<br />

21 and 22 November, while the<br />

advanced module "3D survey<br />

and point cloud management"<br />

is scheduled for 23, 24 and 25<br />

January 2024 .<br />

The objective of the basic<br />

course is to convey the knowledge<br />

necessary to design and im-<br />

plement a photogrammetric<br />

survey campaign, manage the<br />

data and extract orthophotos,<br />

sections and textured models.<br />

Thanks to the advanced module<br />

you will be able to manage<br />

datasets coming from threedimensional<br />

surveys carried<br />

out using different acquisition<br />

technologies (e.g. laser scanner<br />

and SFM photogrammetric survey)<br />

to obtain point clouds and<br />

high-quality textured meshes<br />

from the processed data.<br />

Participants of the basic course<br />

will work with Agisoft Metashape<br />

(Professional), the best<br />

low-cost software for digital<br />

photogrammetry processing,<br />

CloudCompare, Open Source<br />

and very widespread for the<br />

management of point clouds<br />

and meshes, and Perspective-<br />

Rectifier, a low-cost software<br />

that allows the straightening<br />

and georeferencing of digital or<br />

traditional images.<br />

In the advanced module the<br />

The two modules can be purchased<br />

individually or in a single<br />

solution as a training package,<br />

thus saving on the list price.<br />

Guaranteed savings also for<br />

ANA - National Association of<br />

Archaeologists members, who<br />

can count on a 30% discount reserved<br />

for them, as long as they<br />

are up to date with their membership.<br />

For further information, please<br />

refer to the course sheets:<br />

4 "3D photogrammetric survey<br />

and management of point<br />

clouds (basic)" https://www.<br />

terrelogica.com/formazioneterrelogica/scopri-i-corsi/<br />

rilievo-3d-fotogrammetrico-gestion-nuvole-di-punti.html<br />

4 "3D survey and management<br />

of point clouds (advanced)"<br />

https://www.terrelogica.com/<br />

formazione-terrelogica/scoprii-corsi/rilievo-3d-gestion-dellenuvole-di-punti-avanzato.<br />

html<br />

32 32 ArcheomaticA ArcheomaticA N°3 <strong>2023</strong> N°3 <strong>2023</strong>


Tecnologie Cultural per Heritage i Beni Culturali Technology 33 33<br />

Tecnologie per i Beni Culturali 33<br />

LITUS: THE INTERACTIVE TO-<br />

TEM FOR MUSEUMS AND HI-<br />

STORICAL PLACES<br />

The project was born from the<br />

synergy between Automata2<br />

SRL and Floki srls: Automata2<br />

deals with innovative services<br />

and is the protagonist of the<br />

hardware part while Floki has<br />

implemented its own webapp<br />

within the totem.<br />

The need underlying this collaboration<br />

develops from a widespread<br />

and rooted dynamic<br />

in the tourism sector. In fact,<br />

the visitor often takes multiple<br />

photos that remain unused on<br />

the phone for a long time and<br />

what is achieved through the<br />

new service is to enhance these<br />

images by making them available<br />

to a community that expands<br />

over time united by a passion<br />

for the historic place visited.<br />

The visitor can download the<br />

application directly from the<br />

QR Code on the totem and can<br />

take photographs of what strikes<br />

him, with his smartphone,<br />

directly from the app's home<br />

screen. Each image is collected<br />

and inserted into a drive shared<br />

with all visitors who have experienced<br />

the historic place.<br />

Furthermore, within the application<br />

it is possible to view<br />

multimedia material divided<br />

by step and consistent with<br />

the works of art present along<br />

the cultural route; the visitor<br />

himself will then choose,<br />

among the photos taken, some<br />

memories to take with him. The<br />

chosen images can be printed or<br />

sent via email.<br />

From the analysis of the images<br />

taken, it is also possible<br />

to provide important data on<br />

the points of greatest interest<br />

within the historical or museum<br />

places and allow the organization<br />

of the structures to be able<br />

to think of strategies based on<br />

the information provided.<br />

For more information about Litus:<br />

https://automata2.com/<br />

https://www.instagram.com/<br />

we_are_floki/<br />

THE MANFREDONICO<br />

CASTLE IN VIRTUAL REALITY<br />

"Open the castle door, I would<br />

like to know what moment in<br />

history was experienced here."<br />

(Fabrizio Caramagna)<br />

Mussomeli, a town and municipality<br />

in the province of Caltanisetta,<br />

rises above a fertile<br />

plateau, behind it, on a cliff,<br />

stands the majestic Manfredonico<br />

Castle, built for military<br />

and residential purposes by the<br />

Count of Modica, Manfredi III<br />

Chiaramonte, in the 14th century.<br />

The fortress is in perfect<br />

symbiosis with the limestone<br />

cliff, dominates the valley<br />

below and represents one of<br />

the masterpieces originally in<br />

Arab-Norman and Chiaramonte<br />

style of Sicily. Built on the pre-


ENTERPRISES<br />

Fig. 2 - Manfredonico Castle of Mussomeli: 3D reconstruction (Image Bank Xenia Progetti)<br />

existing ruins of an Arab architecture<br />

during the possession of<br />

the D'Auria family, the masonry<br />

works are arranged at different<br />

heights and accompany the<br />

natural structure of the rock.<br />

The interiors of the Castle are<br />

equally evocative and reveal its<br />

magnificence: the Chiaramonte<br />

access portal opens into the second<br />

wall with the noble coats<br />

Fig. 3 - Manfredonico Castle of Mussomeli: 3D reconstruction (Image Bank Xenia Progetti).<br />

of arms still visible at the top<br />

and from a small vestibule there<br />

is the possibility of accessing<br />

the so-called Hall of the Barons<br />

, a large rectangular room with<br />

the ogives of two mullioned windows.<br />

Overlooking the internal<br />

courtyard is the chapel, which,<br />

first dedicated to San Giorgio,<br />

protector of Chiaromonte, has<br />

housed the statue of the Madonna<br />

della Catena since 1521.<br />

The castle of Mussomeli is one<br />

of the most evocative and wellpreserved<br />

Italian medieval<br />

castles in the Sicilian artisticcultural<br />

panorama and is known<br />

as, through the 3D reconstruction<br />

of artefacts or cultural sites,<br />

it is possible to deepen in<br />

situ visits and admire a deposited<br />

object or a cultural place<br />

decentralized down to the<br />

smallest detail, even if only<br />

virtually. Using techniques such<br />

as laser scanning, photogrammetry<br />

and computer modeling,<br />

it is possible to create incredibly<br />

accurate, three-dimensional<br />

digital “twins”. 3D reconstruction,<br />

in fact, allows you to capture<br />

the essence of an artefact<br />

or a cultural site, precisely reproducing<br />

the colours, textures,<br />

architectural details and other<br />

characteristics. Thanks to this<br />

technology, Xenia Progetti, an<br />

innovative company active in<br />

software development not only<br />

in the cultural heritage sector,<br />

has produced the application:<br />

"Castello Manfredonico VR",<br />

which allows the user to "navigate"<br />

in the most hidden corners<br />

of the fortress.<br />

Thanks to virtual reality it is in<br />

fact possible to visit the spaces,<br />

move freely through the environments<br />

and admire its Gothic<br />

beauties up close. The system<br />

allows users to be guided on a<br />

tour to discover Sicilian environments<br />

and history, and thus<br />

access cultural information in a<br />

simple and fun way. The application<br />

proposes the use and development<br />

of latest generation<br />

technology, promoting the valo-<br />

34 34 ArcheomaticA ArcheomaticA N°3 N°1 <strong>2023</strong> N°3 <strong>2023</strong>


Cultural Heritage Technology 35<br />

Tecnologie per i Beni Culturali AGORÀ35<br />

risation of the artistic heritage<br />

present in the area.<br />

3D playback can be useful for:<br />

• View objects or entire sites<br />

in their original integrity, when<br />

for example, due to time or mismanagement,<br />

an asset has not<br />

reached the present day in its<br />

optimal state of conservation;<br />

• Enrich the web contents of<br />

the site or museum, to offer an<br />

additional service for visiting<br />

cultural assets, thus breaking<br />

down geographical barriers and<br />

making an asset always accessible<br />

online;<br />

• Print models of the work or<br />

site to offer inclusive visit experiences<br />

(tactile museum, school<br />

activities, etc.).<br />

The application encourages the<br />

Fig. 4 - Manfredonico Castle of Mussomeli (Image Bank Xenia Progetti)<br />

development and use of new<br />

technologies in the area with<br />

the aim of enhancing the most<br />

characteristic environments full<br />

of meaning and historical-artistic<br />

value.<br />

PIETRO PERUGINO MASTER OF<br />

PERSPECTIVE<br />

Haltadefinizione provides highresolution<br />

digital images that<br />

can be dynamically displayed<br />

at maximum definition, sharp<br />

even at high magnification and<br />

simulating the three-dimensional<br />

effect of the surrounding<br />

environment. The images shine<br />

with power of persuasion to<br />

such an extent - when reporting<br />

it one cannot help but hide a<br />

certain embarrassment - that<br />

Instagram's Artificial Intelligence<br />

censored one of them, asking it<br />

to be replaced with another less<br />

sensual one from the <strong>Archeomatica</strong><br />

page dedicated to Luca<br />

Signorelli in Haltadefinizione: it<br />

was the detail of the nude of a<br />

damned soul longed for by Satan,<br />

which to the painter's contemporaries<br />

who entered the<br />

Chapel of San Brizio of the<br />

Cathedral of Orvieto must<br />

have appeared of an extremely<br />

convincing hyperrealism<br />

as well as beautiful...<br />

With no less effectiveness,<br />

the Haltadefinizione database<br />

(Image Bank) has archived<br />

the works of Pietro<br />

di Cristoforo Vannucci, the<br />

Perugino, which during the<br />

celebrations for the five<br />

hundredth anniversary of<br />

the artist's death were reproposed<br />

to the public in<br />

the exhibition that was held<br />

at the National Galleries of<br />

Umbria and which closed<br />

last June, entitled “The<br />

best master of Italy. Perugino<br />

in his time", with the<br />

catalog edited by Marco Pierini<br />

and Veruska Picchiarelli.<br />

The overviews of around<br />

Fig. 1 - Pietro Perugino, Adorazione dei Magi (National<br />

Gallery of Umbria, Perugia; Image Bank Haltadefinizione)


ENTERPRISES<br />

ten paintings, which were included<br />

in the initiative, can be<br />

viewed online here: https://bit.<br />

ly/3Pimqwv and observed in the<br />

most minute details without losing<br />

clarity and maintaining the<br />

perception of the relationships<br />

of size, proportion and distance.<br />

From the digital recording,<br />

which exposes them online from<br />

any condition of permanent public<br />

placement or storage, under<br />

the authorial keyword of<br />

Pietro Perugino, it is the works<br />

that appear with maximum clarity,<br />

in focus just as if we were<br />

in front of them with a precision<br />

optical instrumentation. From<br />

the images, made dynamic up to<br />

maximum magnification, emerges<br />

a painter with a style that is<br />

both grandiose and meticulous,<br />

among the first to make use of<br />

the Pierfrancescan perspective,<br />

as supported by Federico Zeri in<br />

the Bollettino d'arte in 1953, in<br />

the article Il Maestro dell 'Annunciazione<br />

Gardner. Some works<br />

recognized by Zeri previously<br />

attributed to Fiorenzo di Lorenzo<br />

were displayed in the exhibition.<br />

A perspective which in the<br />

Adorazione dei Magi di Perugia<br />

(fig.1) reaches the heights of the<br />

master from Borgo Sansepolcro<br />

in the most intense chromaticism<br />

of Domenico Veneziano.<br />

I first learned both through the<br />

subtleties and glimpses of the<br />

city walls of Benedetto Bonfigli,<br />

whom Leone Pascoli had first<br />

advanced in the role of his first<br />

master in Perugia and through<br />

whom he must have become acquainted<br />

with their works, the<br />

first painters to flagrantly influence<br />

him.<br />

In this plate the characters wear<br />

velvet doublets buttoned on the<br />

collar and in the first on the left,<br />

with the red cap (fig. 2), a threequarter<br />

self-portrait is recognisable,<br />

based on the comparison<br />

with the frontal self-portrait<br />

of the Collegio del Cambio in<br />

Audience Hall. The Cambio frescoes,<br />

which argue for Divine<br />

Wisdom, are the chronological<br />

threshold of the painter's triumph<br />

in Perugia, once the idea of<br />

Fig. 2 - Pietro Perugino, Adorazione dei Magi, panel, detail of the self-portrait (National<br />

Gallery of Umbria, Perugia; Image Bank Haltadefinizione)<br />

a total collaboration of aids, including<br />

Raffaello, had been set<br />

aside for them: a collaboration,<br />

now understood only as partial,<br />

which was postulated by Giovan<br />

Battista Cavalcaselle, who, following<br />

Vasari and reading the<br />

date inscribed in the right bay of<br />

the frescoes (MD), dated them<br />

to 1500. Recently, the discovery<br />

of the contract drawn up in<br />

1496 (Sartore 2013) has allowed<br />

to draw up the chronology for<br />

the years 1498-1500, with the<br />

hypothesis of an intervention by<br />

Pinturicchio as well as Raffaello.<br />

A third self-portrait appeared in<br />

La consegna delle chiavi of the<br />

Sistine Chapel (fig. 3): it is the<br />

man in the dark habit behind<br />

the Apostles of the group on the<br />

right behind St. Peter (A. Venturi<br />

1950, fig.3). Perugino certainly<br />

did not lack, more than Raffaello<br />

himself, the skills of a portraitist,<br />

also based on the recognition,<br />

always in the same panel of<br />

the Adoration of the Magi (figs. 1<br />

and 2), of the portrait of Andrea<br />

Verrocchio, in whose workshop<br />

the young painter had just completed<br />

his Florentine apprenticeship,<br />

around 1475, in the fifth<br />

face with the gray cap in the line<br />

of adoring the Child. Date from<br />

which the tight chronology of<br />

the artist's intense independent<br />

activity in central Italy unfolds<br />

with commissions in Rome and<br />

Venice and from Mantua (Gnoli<br />

1923). The grandiose panel of<br />

the L’adorazione dei Magi comes<br />

from the Umbrian gallery from<br />

the church of S. Maria Nuova<br />

and, in the first half of the sixteenth<br />

century, from the demolished<br />

one of S. Maria dei Servi in<br />

36 36 ArcheomaticA ArcheomaticA N°3 <strong>2023</strong> N°3 <strong>2023</strong>


Cultural Heritage Technology 37<br />

Perugia and perhaps, previously,<br />

from the Jesuit Convent with the<br />

church dedicated to San Giusto<br />

alle Mura in Florence, where<br />

Giorgio Vasari could have seen<br />

it until 1529, with three other<br />

paintings of his which the historian<br />

mentions and which will<br />

have instead been transferred<br />

to the Uffizi. According to Vasari<br />

in the Life of Pietro Perugino,<br />

in fact, the 'wall painting' of a<br />

Nativity with the Magi, in which<br />

Perugino would nevertheless<br />

have portrayed Andrea Verrocchio,<br />

was in the cloister of the<br />

convent, among the paintings of<br />

San Giusto lost in the siege of<br />

Florence in 1529. An education,<br />

that in the workshop of Andrea<br />

Verrocchio, remembered not<br />

only by Vasari, but also by Filippo<br />

Baldinucci, Leone Pascoli and<br />

Pellegrino Orlandi. In that workshop,<br />

he would have painted<br />

both with Luca Signorelli, his<br />

collaborator, and alongside Leonardo<br />

da Vinci and Lorenzo di<br />

Credi, the three faces in the L’adorazione<br />

dei Magi di Perugia at<br />

the sides of the master Verrocchio,<br />

following the Magi kings, in<br />

whose clothes would instead be<br />

represented by members of the<br />

Baglioni family from Perugia, as<br />

donors of the altarpiece. It will<br />

be followed after twenty years<br />

by the Altarpiece of the Decemvirs<br />

of the Vatican Museums,<br />

which Perugino signed with the<br />

patronymic with very fine capital<br />

letters: "...HOC PETRUS<br />

DE CHASTRO PLEBIS PINXIT", to<br />

which was joined upon completion<br />

the cymatium with Cristo<br />

in Pietà of the National Gallery<br />

of Umbria, also the latter now<br />

Fig. 3 - Pietro Perugino, La consegna delle chiavi, fresco (Sistine Chapel; Photo Anderson,<br />

gelatine with silver salts, Alinari Archive, Florence)<br />

in Haltadefinizione. Dated 1500<br />

and on the lower edge signed<br />

in capital letters 'PERUSINUS',<br />

citizenship obtained in 1485, in<br />

the squared, refined and elegant<br />

calligraphic style of all the inscriptions<br />

of Perugino's paintings<br />

is also L’assunzione della Madonna<br />

e Santi in the Accademia Gallery<br />

of Florence, L’assunzione<br />

della Vergine from the Abbey of<br />

Vallombrosa.<br />

Corner pieces of his predella<br />

were the masterpieces of<br />

the two profile portraits of the<br />

monks Biagio Milanesi, abbot of<br />

Vallombrosa and Baldassarre di<br />

Angelo (figs. 4a and b), which<br />

still bear a refined, thin inscription<br />

of their respective identities<br />

on the edge of the compartments,<br />

and today at the Academy<br />

of Florence, true models<br />

of verisimilitude, painted with a<br />

marked predilection for detail.<br />

While on an altar of the La Chiesa<br />

dell’Annunziata (S. Maria dei<br />

Servi, Cappella Baratta) of the<br />

Fig. 4a - Pietro Perugino, Portrait of Biagio Milanesi, predella section of the Altarpiece of the L’assunzione<br />

della Madonna of the Vallombrosa Abbey (Gallery of the Academy of Florence); Fig. 4b - idem, Portrait of<br />

Baldassarre di Angelo, ibidem (Galleria dell'Accademia di Firenze)


ENTERPRISES<br />

same city the L’assunzione della<br />

Vergine is still preserved which<br />

was on the back of the Deposizione<br />

di Cristo, begun by Filippino<br />

Lippi and, after his death,<br />

completed by Perugino in 1507:<br />

the latter, today in the Gallerie<br />

dell'Accademia in Florence,<br />

was also a grandiose machine,<br />

according to Vasari once entirely<br />

set up in the church of the<br />

Servite Fathers, who had been<br />

among his major commitments.<br />

The two compartments with St.<br />

John the Baptist and St. Lucia<br />

at the Metropolitan Museum of<br />

Art in New York were part of it.<br />

Extraordinarily appreciable in<br />

very high resolution, even if not<br />

always evidently intact, is the<br />

color film on the panels, which,<br />

varied by the knowledge of works<br />

by Flemish painters that reached<br />

Florence, stands out for<br />

the colored shadows, finished in<br />

oil on tempera with a very thin<br />

line. Perugino finally transferred<br />

the oil miniature technique<br />

to the grandiose scale and the<br />

altarpiece, to the point of covering<br />

an entire wall.<br />

Bonfigli's less bright chromaticism<br />

will again be mentioned in<br />

the grandiose fresco of the L’Adorazione<br />

dei Magi in the Oratorio<br />

di Santa Maria dei Bianchi<br />

(S. Maria della Mercede) in Città<br />

della Pieve, dated 1504 (fig. 5),<br />

involved in the exhibition circuit<br />

current: another fading of ultramarine<br />

blue on the horizon. Not<br />

to be interpreted in the sense of<br />

a revival of Leonardo's nuance,<br />

but rather as peculiar to Perugino,<br />

parallel to the rendering<br />

of the shrubs, classificatory by<br />

a botanical treatise, no less<br />

than it was for Leonardo. In this<br />

painting Perugino, opening the<br />

last period of his production in<br />

Umbria, sprinkled the wide expanse<br />

of color with theories of<br />

Fig. 5 - Pietro Perugino, Adoration of the Magi, fresco, 1504 (Oratorio dei Bianchi, Città<br />

della Pieve).<br />

characters and knights, like his<br />

first master Bonfigli, but increasingly<br />

spaced out on the lay of<br />

the land, enclosing the landscape<br />

horizon in which Lago Trasimeno<br />

can be seen in the trompe<br />

l'oeil of a frame with racemes,<br />

rosettes, acanthus spirals and<br />

candelabras in a plastic quotation<br />

from Roman architecture,<br />

which finally makes the banded<br />

structure of the triumphal arch<br />

vanish of his most impressive<br />

altar machines. The immensity<br />

of the landscape extends over<br />

a single plane, unlike the Martirio<br />

di San Sebastiano dei Pollaiolo<br />

(National Gallery, London),<br />

painted for the SS. Annunziata<br />

di Firenze, in which it appears<br />

doubled and staggered on two<br />

or more levels. Adolfo Venturi,<br />

in the article L’arte giovanile<br />

del Perugino (L'arte, 1911, 14,<br />

p. 53) had supported, in contradiction<br />

with Vasari, Perugino's<br />

training in the workshop of Antonio<br />

Pollaiolo, instead of that<br />

of his antagonist Verrocchio, for<br />

the brilliance of the colors in the<br />

details illuminated in oil and for<br />

the large extensions of landscape<br />

on the geometrical ground<br />

or floor, which both Leonardo<br />

and Perugino intersected with<br />

architectural wings, rocky walls<br />

or windows and, finally, rolling<br />

hills.<br />

In the Gonfalone di Giustizia of<br />

the National Gallery of Umbria<br />

(fig.6), commissioned by the<br />

Confraternita dei Disciplinati<br />

di S. Maria Novella in Perugia<br />

starting from 1496, again compared<br />

to the very high resolution<br />

of Haltadefinizione, one can<br />

nevertheless see the turreted<br />

perspective of Perugia from out-<br />

38 38 ArcheomaticA ArcheomaticA N°3 N°1 <strong>2023</strong> N°3 <strong>2023</strong>


Cultural Heritage Technology 39<br />

Tecnologie per i Beni Culturali AGORÀ39<br />

Fig. 6 - Pietro Perugino, Gonfalone di Giustizia<br />

(National Gallery of Umbria, Pergia)<br />

(Image Bank Haltadefinizione)<br />

side the walls which, similarly,<br />

in the shiny clarity of a lens, however<br />

abraded, is anything but<br />

sweetly fantastic. The frame of<br />

the fresco with L’Adorazione dei<br />

Fig. 7 - Pietro Perugino, Annunciazione Ranieri<br />

(National Gallery of Umbria, Perugia;<br />

Image Bank Haltadefinizione)<br />

Magi di Città della Pieve is very<br />

similar to the framing of the<br />

perspectives of the eight panels<br />

of the Storie dei Miracoli di San<br />

Bernardino, also in the National<br />

Gallery of Umbria and coming<br />

from the Oratorio di San Bernardino<br />

della Chiesa di S. Francesco<br />

al Prato in Perugia, which date<br />

them to the workshop's own activity<br />

of the artist's full maturity<br />

starting from 1473, a date that<br />

appears in the scene of San Bernardino<br />

healing a girl, with stylistic<br />

discontinuity between them<br />

and extensive intervention by<br />

other masters, including Pinturicchio.<br />

They can also be compared<br />

to the Annunciazione Ranieri<br />

(fig.7), coming from the private<br />

collection in the Roman palace of<br />

Count Emanuele Ranieri (Ranieri<br />

del Castello di Sorbello formerly<br />

Del Monte) and in storage at the<br />

same Gallery, which repeats the<br />

score of a flooring recurring in<br />

the tablets. As well as the Opistograph<br />

Altarpiece of the Monteripido<br />

Convent in Perugia, with the<br />

Coronation of the Virgin on one<br />

side, in which the Saints' robes<br />

have even earlier iridescent effects<br />

than in Michelangelo, while<br />

a wooden Crucifix in the round<br />

stands out in the center of the<br />

scene of the Crucifixion on the<br />

other, to highlight the maximum<br />

degree of volumetric, plastic and<br />

sculptural evidence; progressively<br />

in the chromatic simulation<br />

of Donatello's flattened objects<br />

are increasingly flattened as the<br />

distance to the horizon increases.<br />

All works that demonstrate<br />

how, returning to live in Città<br />

della Pieve, his hometown, where<br />

he had more than modest ori-<br />

gins, Perugino had maintained<br />

the entrepreneurial ability to<br />

carry out commissions in Perugia,<br />

Florence, Rome and Naples<br />

and others on his own international,<br />

intended for the French,<br />

Spanish and German markets.<br />

No less than the exhibition activities<br />

for the celebration of<br />

the centenary, the collection of<br />

Perugino's works that the Image<br />

Bank of Haltadefinizione offers<br />

to the public, seems first of all to<br />

be able to fill a historiographical<br />

gap, restoring maximum visibility<br />

to his Umbrian works, precisely<br />

those left out of Filippo Baldinucci's<br />

biography (Notizie dei<br />

Professori del Disegno, Volume<br />

V, Milano 1811, p. 491) and reinstated<br />

by some other paintings<br />

extrapolated from their contexts<br />

and exported.<br />

Francesca Salvemini<br />

Fig 8 - Pietro Perugino, Sposalizio della Vergine (Museée<br />

des Beaux Arts, Caen; Image Bank Haltadefinizione)


AGORÀ<br />

A call to EU Member States for a<br />

pan-European collection of 3Ddigitised<br />

heritage assets Under<br />

Twin it!, the Ministries of Culture<br />

of the European Union Member<br />

States are invited to liaise with<br />

their national cultural institutions<br />

to submit one 3D digitised<br />

heritage asset to the common<br />

European data space for cultural<br />

heritage, deployed by the Europeana<br />

Initiative. The goal of the<br />

campaign is to collect and showcase<br />

emblematic and high-quality<br />

samples of Europe’s cultural<br />

assets in 3D, while supporting<br />

Member States in their 3D digitisation<br />

and preservation efforts.<br />

Introduction<br />

Making cultural heritage available<br />

for future generations to enjoy<br />

and be inspired by is a major<br />

public policy goal in the EU. 3D<br />

technologies offer unprecedented<br />

opportunities to advance<br />

this objective, widening access<br />

to culture, supporting digital<br />

preservation and fostering the<br />

reuse of Europe's cultural assets.<br />

In the 2019 declaration of cooperation<br />

on advancing digitisation<br />

of cultural heritage, EU Member<br />

States recognised the need for<br />

‘a pan-European initiative for<br />

3D digitisation of cultural heritage<br />

artefacts, monuments and<br />

sites’. The European Commission<br />

Recommendation of 2021 on<br />

a common European data space<br />

for cultural heritage invites EU<br />

Member States to set clear digitisation<br />

and digital preservation<br />

goals. By 2030, Member States<br />

are encouraged to ‘digitise in 3D<br />

all monuments and sites deemed<br />

at risk, 50 % of the most physically<br />

visited cultural and heritage<br />

monuments, buildings and<br />

sites, and pay special attention<br />

to specific categories of heritage<br />

assets with low level of digitisation’.<br />

It also sets ambitious<br />

indicative targets for content<br />

contribution to Europeana and<br />

the data space, both in terms of<br />

new high quality records and 3D<br />

assets.<br />

‘Twin it! 3D for Europe’s culture’<br />

is a campaign by the European<br />

Commission and the Europeana<br />

Initiative, under the auspices of<br />

the Swedish and Spanish Presidencies<br />

of the Council of the EU,<br />

culminating during the Belgian<br />

Presidency, to support these goals.<br />

About the campaign<br />

Twin it! will mobilise all 27 EU<br />

Member States to submit one 3D<br />

digitised heritage asset to the<br />

data space by the end of the<br />

campaign in 2024. The selected<br />

asset can be cultural heritage<br />

at risk, among the most physically<br />

visited monuments, buildings<br />

and sites in that country,<br />

or belong to a category with low<br />

levels of digitisation, directly<br />

supporting the Recommendations’<br />

goals. The 3D digitised asset<br />

should be of high technical<br />

quality, showcasing European<br />

excellence.<br />

This pan-European 3D collection<br />

will be showcased during a final<br />

high-level event in Brussels,<br />

planned in the framework of the<br />

Belgian Presidency. The final<br />

event will take place alongside<br />

a meeting of the Council of the<br />

EU so that Ministers of Culture<br />

could join and renew their commitment<br />

to the Recommendations,<br />

Europeana and the data<br />

space. The collection would be<br />

then hosted in a dedicated online<br />

collection.<br />

Twin it! kicks-off on 21 June<br />

<strong>2023</strong> during the Swedish Presidency<br />

of the EU. It will continue<br />

under Spain’s Presidency in the<br />

second half of the year and will<br />

come to an end during Belgium’s<br />

Presidency in 2024.<br />

European Commissioner for Internal<br />

Market, Thierry Breton,<br />

said: ‘Europeana currently gives<br />

access to 57 million cultural<br />

heritage assets with only 0.01%<br />

in 3D. Let's take advantage of<br />

the opportunities brought by<br />

technology to preserve our European<br />

cultural heritage for future<br />

generations. Today, we are<br />

calling Member States to select<br />

digital 3D assets to enhance innovation<br />

and creation not only in<br />

the cultural and creative sectors<br />

but also in education, tourism<br />

and smart cities. This will benefit<br />

and empower people and businesses.’<br />

Harry Verwayen, General Director<br />

of the Europeana Foundation,<br />

said, ‘3D offers unprecedented<br />

opportunities for the cultural<br />

heritage sector to fulfil its<br />

public mission in the 21st century,<br />

staying relevant in today’s<br />

fast-changing world. 3D modelling<br />

is already being used across<br />

Europe to support preservation<br />

work, capture imaginations and<br />

enable new forms of discovery,<br />

or to construct cultural virtual<br />

worlds, to name but a few. The<br />

Europeana Initiative will continue<br />

empowering EU Member States<br />

and their cultural heritage<br />

institutions to fully harness the<br />

potential of 3D for the benefit of<br />

Europe’s culture.’<br />

Why 3D Matters<br />

Twin it! 3D for Europe’s culture<br />

will contribute to creating<br />

a shared understanding of the<br />

need for 3D, raising awareness<br />

of its opportunities and benefits<br />

and building capacity among EU<br />

40 ArcheomaticA N°3 <strong>2023</strong>


Cultural Heritage Technology technologies 41<br />

Member States and their cultural<br />

heritage institutions. Ultimately,<br />

it aims to spur a wider uptake of<br />

3D digitisation in Europe’s cultural<br />

heritage sector and better<br />

equip it to:<br />

4 Broaden access to culture,<br />

reaching wider and more diverse<br />

audiences. 3D can provide<br />

virtual access to inaccessible<br />

places - for instance those underwater<br />

- or improve accessibility<br />

for people with visual impairments<br />

by offering, for example,<br />

tactile experiences. It can be<br />

used to enhance engagement<br />

with and public understanding<br />

of cultural heritage through tailored,<br />

immersive and interactive<br />

experiences.<br />

4Advance Europe’s collective<br />

efforts and responsibility to preserve<br />

its shared irreplaceable<br />

cultural heritage for the benefit<br />

and enjoyment of future generations.<br />

This cultural wealth is fragile<br />

and constantly at risk due to<br />

changing climate conditions and<br />

other human-caused threats.<br />

3D allows for non-destructive<br />

analysis of assets and visualisation<br />

of damages, providing crucial<br />

information for restoration<br />

and conservation.<br />

4 Spur innovation and creativity.<br />

3D digitisation with the highest<br />

level of detail can enhance<br />

the reuse of cultural heritage<br />

material and therefore support<br />

the emergence of potential new<br />

services and applications in the<br />

cultural and creative sectors and<br />

well beyond - from education<br />

and research to tourism.<br />

To fully capitalise on the potential<br />

of 3D for the benefit of our<br />

sector, there is a need for multidisciplinary<br />

capacity-building of<br />

heritage professionals, exchange<br />

of practices and pan-European<br />

collaboration and networking.<br />

Twin it! will provide a platform<br />

to advance these objectives.<br />

Events<br />

Work undertaken as part of the<br />

Twin It! campaign is supported<br />

by conferences on 3D which<br />

Europeana will organise in collaboration<br />

with Member States<br />

holding the Presidencies of the<br />

Council of the EU from January<br />

<strong>2023</strong> - June 2024.<br />

Under Spain’s Presidency of the<br />

Council (July-December <strong>2023</strong>),<br />

a conference explored how to<br />

build the capacities of heritage<br />

professionals and institutions in<br />

creating and making available<br />

high-quality 3D data. And the<br />

theme of 3D will also be the focus<br />

of Europeana activities related<br />

to the Belgian Presidency<br />

(January-June 2024).<br />

Source: ( https://pro.europeana.eu/page/twin-it-3d-for-europe-s-culture<br />

)<br />

EUreka3D project: latest updates<br />

on 3D digitisation of heritage<br />

collections – Content<br />

partners in the project started<br />

the work to digitize in 3D their<br />

assets, with final aim of sharing<br />

the collections as open access in<br />

Europeana, the European Digital<br />

Library.<br />

The EUreka3D project coordinated<br />

by Photoconsortium has just<br />

started the action on high-quality<br />

3D digitisation, which will<br />

make great collections of cultural<br />

heritage 3D digitised objects<br />

accessible to everyone in the Europeana<br />

website.<br />

The content provided by project<br />

partners is very diverse, and<br />

ranges from monuments at risk<br />

to archaeological objects, early<br />

cinema items and filigree paper<br />

moulds. EUreka3D will aggregate<br />

on Europeana about 5,000<br />

new 2D and 3D records, digitised<br />

in high quality from various<br />

providers: CUT Cyprus University<br />

of Technology, Bibracte, Museo<br />

della Carta and CRDI Ajuntament<br />

de Girona, some of which have<br />

never featured on Europeana before.<br />

The project is also creating a<br />

cloud-based platform managed<br />

at EGI the European Grid Initiative.<br />

dedicated to Cultural Heritage<br />

Institutions offering advanced<br />

services and tools for digital collection<br />

management, especially<br />

with 3D objects and their metadata<br />

and paradata management.<br />

During these days, CRDI / Ajuntament<br />

de Girona is one of the<br />

partners fully involved in the<br />

digitisation process. Around 50<br />

pre-cinema objects from the<br />

Cinema Museum of Girona are<br />

being digitised: magic lanterns,<br />

zoetropes, optical boxes, early<br />

cinema cameras and movie<br />

projectors. The 3D objects are<br />

being digitalised following the<br />

recommendations of the unique<br />

Study on Quality in 3D Digitisation<br />

of Tangible Cultural Heritage<br />

(VIGIE 2020/654), produced<br />

by partner CUT.<br />

Images courtesy of CRDI/Ajuntament<br />

de Girona<br />

Source: ( https://www.digitalmeetsculture.net/article/<br />

eureka3d-project-updates-3d-


EVENTS<br />

8 NOVEMBER <strong>2023</strong><br />

ROMADRONE - Roma (Italy)<br />

https://romadrone.it<br />

14 – 16 NOVEMBER <strong>2023</strong><br />

Technologyforall - Roma (Italy)<br />

https://technologyforall.it<br />

15 – 17 NOVEMBER <strong>2023</strong><br />

CHNT28 – Cultural Heritage and New<br />

Technologies - Wien (Austria)<br />

12 – 13 DECEMBER <strong>2023</strong><br />

ArcheoFOSS <strong>2023</strong> - Torino (Italy)<br />

https://www.archeofoss.org/<strong>2023</strong>/<br />

14 – 15 DECEMBER <strong>2023</strong><br />

AIES - XIV International Conference on<br />

Diagnosis, Conservation and Enhancement<br />

of Cultural Heritage - Napoli (Italy)<br />

https://www.aiesbbcc.it/<strong>2023</strong>-2/<br />

14 – 15 DECEMBER <strong>2023</strong><br />

GEO – AI Artificial Intelligence for Spatial<br />

Data - Torino (Italy)<br />

https://polito.it<br />

21 – 23 FEBRUARY<br />

3D-ARCH workshop - 3D Virtual<br />

Reconstruction and Visualization of<br />

Complex Architectures - Siena (Italy)<br />

https://www.fbk.eu/it/event/3d-archworkshop/<br />

15 – 17 MAY 2024<br />

RESTAURO – Salone Internazionale dei<br />

Beni Culturali - Ferrara (Italy)<br />

https://www.salonedelrestauro.com/<br />

1 – 7 JULY 2024<br />

FOSS 4G Europe 2024 - Tartu (Estonia)<br />

https://2024.europe.foss4g.org/<br />

2 - 5 JULY 2024<br />

XXXIX° Convegno Scienza e Beni Culturali.<br />

Preventive and Planned Conservation.<br />

Twenty years after the Italian Cultural<br />

Heritage Framework Law<br />

Bressanone (Italy)<br />

https://scienzaebeniculturali.it/<br />

13 – 15 SEPTEMBER 2024<br />

Intersectionality: Museums, inclusion,<br />

and SDGs. Seventeenth International<br />

Conference on the Inclusive Museum<br />

Vienna, (Austria)<br />

https://onmuseums.com/2024-<br />

conference<br />

Roma<br />

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a full scan with spherical images in only twenty seconds over<br />

five times faster than the BLK360 G1.<br />

◗ With fast and agile in-field workflows, along with live feedback<br />

on your mobile device, you can be absolutely sure you’ve captured<br />

everything you need. VIS technology automatically combines<br />

your scans to speed up your workflow and help you make sure<br />

your datasets are complete.<br />

◗ BLK360 data is highly valuable for so many uses - from AEC to VR.<br />

Easily transfer and work with data in your software ecosystem<br />

to create immersive and highly accurate deliverables.<br />

◗ You can also upload BLK360 data to HxDR, the Hexagon cloud-based<br />

data storage, visualization and collaboration platform.<br />

to know<br />

more<br />

Contact us to know more!<br />

Via A. Romilli, 20/8 - 20139 Milano • Tel. 02 5398739<br />

42 E-mail: teorema@geomatica.it ArcheomaticA N°3 <strong>2023</strong><br />

www.geomatica.it • www.disto.it • www.termocamere.com


Cultural Heritage Technology 43<br />

Il Forum dell'Innovazione<br />

Tecnologie per il Territorio, Beni Culturali e Smart Cities<br />

14 - 16 NOV <strong>2023</strong><br />

www.technologyforall.it


DWG

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