Satellite A-DinSAR monitoring of the Vittoriano monument (Rome, Italy). Implications for heritage preservation

The "Vittoriano" monument, dedicated to king Vittorio Emanuele II, is one of the most famous cultural heritage landmarks in Rome (Italy), even because it hosts the Tomb of the unknown soldier, monument to the Italian fallen in wars. It was designed by the architect Giuseppe Sacconi at the end of 19th century and since the beginning of its construction, it has been affected by cracks and deformations. In the last years, such phenomena have become more evident, especially on the western side of the building. With the aim of understanding the causes of the deformation process and making a diagnosis of the soil-structure interaction of the Monument, a specific project has been undertaken between CERI Sapienza and the Lazio Museum Network.Satellite ADInSAR was performed to infer the recent deformational history of the main parts of the monument, by using medium and high-resolution SAR images acquired in double orbital geometry (ascending and descending) and covering the last two decades.Through the support of selected geological and lithotechnical data it was possible to interpret the deformational dynamics of the Vittoriano.The overall investigations allowed to better define the volume and the structures that have been involved in the deformation mechanisms, which is currently driving the overall process, in order to address effective mitigation measures. They are capable of backward analysing the deformational process, reconstructing the evolution of a phenomenon and above all capable of easily investigating large areas

Estimation of the thickness of anthropogenic deposits in historical urban centres: An interdisciplinary methodology applied to Rome (Italy)

In historical urban centres, the superimposition of excavation and deposition activities over time has resulted in an irregular spatial distribution of anthropogenic deposits, which may reach considerable thicknesses. The detection of those thicknesses requires extensive investigations. Broad borehole and geophysical campaigns cost time and money, consequently at the urban-planning level, it is usual to shift to an estimation of thicknesses, which may be performed through map-algebra operations, that is, by subtracting from the modelled ground surface the elevation of the anthropogenic-deposit basal surface. The latter is implemented through the interpolation of point elevation data, which are generally provided by borehole logs. Despite the development of advanced spatial interpolation methodologies, previous modelling results in the literature show that if the process is affected by insufficient input data, it produces imprecise interpolation outputs. This paper reports an interdisciplinary methodology aiming at enhancing elevation datasets, in order to obtain more accurate digital elevation models. The increase in number and spatial distribution of input points is achieved through past-landscape analyses mainly based on elevation data given by borehole logs, available archaeological reports and historical topographic maps, these being generally available for historical urban centres. The methodology was tested in an urban sector of Rome, where significant activities have been performed for millennia particularly during the Roman Age. A reliable model of the basal surface of the anthrostrata led to a better estimation of the spatial distribution of such deposits and, in addition, revealed the original topographic surface, as modified by human activities