Strumenti per lo studio della pittura di illusione in Sicilia: il trattato di Paolo Amato e un metodo per l'analisi grafica tridimensionale di una quadratura.

Oggetto dello studio è la definizione di un metodo per l’analisi grafica tridimensionale di una pittura d’illusione; campo di applicazione è lo studio quadrature nel coro della chiesa di Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio a Palermo, eseguite da un allievo di Paolo Amato, architetto del Senato palermitano ed autore di un interessante trattato sulla Prospettiva. Il rilievo topografico e fotogrammetrico della volta del coro hanno condotto alla definizione di un modello tridimensionale texturizzato del manufatto, che ha consentito di indagare in modo puntuale la struttura proiettiva delle scene dipinte e le relazioni tra le tecniche di rappresentazione utilizzate e le regole delineate da Amato nel suo trattato

Città 'altre'. Le miniere come metafora della rappresentazione.

The study is focused on the representation of a sulphur mine located in the heart of Sicily. The link between the outside plants and the underground network of galleries is intended as a symbol of the overlayed structure of the cities and as a metaphor of the representation. The dualism between apollynian and dyonisiac environments,that is open spaces under the light andunderground worlds, where obscurity is permanent, forces the search of proper representation techniques, capable of conveying the peculiarities of each realm. Three plates, drawn in an obsolete way, pencil on art board, try to explicit the complex relations underlying the structure of the mine and the role of the ‘technique’ of representation as an expressive mean, according to Heidegger’s definition. Finally, an analogy between the labyrinth and some trends in contemporary architecture, is proposed

The Painted ceiling of the nave of the Cappella palatina in Palermo: an essay on its geometric and constructive features

Il testo illustra gli esiti di una ricerca sulle matrici geometriche e costruttive del soffitto il legno che copre la navata centrale della Cappella Palatina di Palermo. L’opera, già oggetto di approfonditi studi relativi ai temi iconografici delle pitture che la decorano, viene indagata tramite un accurato rilievo condotto con tecniche laser scanning al fine di risalire alle matrici geometriche del progetto; tale indagine viene condotta tenendo in adeguata considerazione la struttura tridimensionale del manufatto, basata sulla tecnica dei muqarnas. Al termine dello studio viene definita una ipotesi che evidenzia una stretta correlazione fra il tracciato regolatore che ne definisce l’impianto planimetrico ed il dimensionamento dei filari che ne compongono l’ alzato

Tecniche integrate di rilevamento per l'analisi morfologica del fronte principale di Palazzo Ajutamicristo.

Obiettivo dello studio è la formalizzazione di alcune ipotesi sulla configurazione del fronte di Palazzo Ajutamicristo di Palermo, opera di Matteo Carnelivari, prima delle trasformazioni seicentesche. Tale ipotesi si fonda sul rilievo fotogrammetrico dell’intero prospetto e sulla lettura ed interpretazione di alcuni frammenti dell’assetto originario ancor oggi visibili. I processi di formulazione e verifica di ipotesi hanno condotto per successivi affinamenti alla prima ricostruzione del fronte basata su uno studio geometrico e dimensionale fondato su un rilievo scientifico. Fra gli elementi salienti del contributo è l’inserimento di elementi sfuggiti a studi precedenti, la cui presenza è stata suggerita dall’ipotesi ricostruttiva

Rilievo e Rappresentazione del soffitto della navata centrale della Cappella Palatina

Gli studi sul soffitto in legno dipinto che copre la navata centrale della Cappella Palatina, realizzato con la tecnica dei muqarnas di matrice islamica, entrano a far parte di un’opera in quattro volumi sulla Cappella del Palazzo Reale di Palermo della Collana Mirabilia Italiae curata da Salvatore Settis. Nel contributo viene delineata una cronologia degli studi e dei rilievi del soffitto condotti fra XIX e XX secolo e viene illustrato il rilievo realizzato nel 2005 in occasione dei restauri della Cappella. Tema centrale dello studio è l’analisi delle relazioni fra il progetto del soffitto e la sua tecnica costruttiva; attraverso la costruzione di modelli tridimensionali digitali, desunti da un rilievo con laser scanner, viene indagato e descritto il metodo che ha condotto alla realizzazione di un soffitto leggero ma resistente, unico esempio sopravvissuto nel suo genere in tutto il bacino del mediterraneo

From the Museum to the site and backwards

Digital archaeological reconstructions usually at documenting the original position of blocks and architectural elements of the building, both the ones on site and those exhibited in museums. Digital survey and representation provide the opportunity to place the fragments into the reconstruction model of the building, thus making the understanding of their shape and function much easier. A relevant difference between past and present reconstructions is the representation of the context and the landscape. The context is a relevant feature of watercolor ‘Restorations’ of the Grand Tour; on the other hand, in digital reconstructions the landscape is often neglected or reduced to a ‘background’ neutral image. The study evaluates the use of equirectangular images as a tool to reconnect the metopes of the Temple E of Selinunte, today in the Archaeological Museum Salinas of Palermo, with the temple itself and with the landscape of Selinunte. The backwards experiment aims at displaying the metopes attached to the ruins of the temple on site. The position of metopes in the 3D model of the temple allowed to reconstruct the position that a camera should have on site, in front of the Temple, to match the point of view of the visitor inside the hall. The alignment of equirectangular images allows, in the museum, the transition between the real view of the hall and the real view of the Temple and the landscape around, combined with the virtual view of the reconstruction with the metopes; on site, symmetrically, the transition between the real image of the temple and the virtual images of the metopes will show their original position

Before the earthquake: Reconstruction and Presentation of lost sites and buildings

The paper presents the results of a research aiming at proving the efficacy of perspective restitution from photos for the reconstruction of buildings and sites that disappeared in the past century. The case study is the town of Messina, sited at the north-eastern corner of Sicily (Italy), facing the homonymous strait that divides Sicily from the Italian peninsula; in 1908 Messina and Reggio Calabria, at the opposite side of the strait, were levelled to the ground by a powerful earthquake, followed by a tsunami. No building or monument survived the destruction: a new town with the same name took the site of Messina. Except for few strongly reshaped buildings, the memory of the streets and monuments of the destroyed town is today kept by some photos, taken by the end of the XIX century by professional photographers. The experimentation on Messina aims at a twofold purpose: test the reliability and usability of perspective restitution for the reconstruction of lost buildings and urban sites; use photogrammetric tools for the recontextualization of architectural elements (cornices, capitals, portals, corbels) that once belonged to a destroyed building and are today exhibited in Museums. Such process allows the verification of the scale of the reconstructed building and opens new forms of presentation of Historical heritage: in this study panoramic images have been used to display the building ‘attached’ to the fragment during the visit at the museum and to present, on site, the building in its original location with the fragments repositioned. The destruction and fall of Messina strictly echoes the destiny of many other towns in Europe; the research aims therefore at showing the potentials of perspective restitution and the usability of this technique in many similar contexts

Perspective restitution from view cameras photos

The paper aims at discussing the accuracy of perspective restitution from view camera photos; view cameras are non-standard cameras frequently used in the past century for on field shooting of buildings and urban sites; this is why the reconstruction of lost buildings often deals with photos taken with a view camera. The case study chosen for the proposed experiment is an urban complex built in Palermo in the ‘50s. The site features a very regular layout with surfaces at right angle, that supports the graphic reconstruction of photos’ inner and outer orientation. The site has been surveyed with a laser scanner; the point cloud provided the metric information needed for the evaluation of the accuracy of perspective restitution. The experiment used three sets of photos: a photo taken by Studio Alinari in the ‘60s; a couple of photos taken during the research work with a view camera; a photo taken with a standard mirrorless camera. The results of the experiment prove that view cameras do not modify the projective layout of perspective and that the accuracy of restitution from view camera photos is comparable to the accuracy of restitution from images taken with a standard camera

Ruined Archeological Heritage: Survey, 3D Modeling, Virtual Anastylosis.

The study focuses on the use of 3D surveying and digital representation tools for the purpose of documenting archaeological monuments whose restoration involves the disassembly and repositioning of blocks. The case study in question is a building at the west end of the San Biagio archaic sanctuary, located within the archaeological site of Agrigento. The monument is a rectangular building encompassing two pools, whose foundations are suffering from deep decay and there are large spaces between the walls which have become disconnected. Surveying and 3D modelling have been used to illustrate the existing state of the building. Plans, sections and orthophotos have been created to support the indexing of ashlars and to evaluate the structural decay. A 3D model of the most dilapidated part of the building, the north-eastern corner, has been constructed in order to document the direction of the ashlars and where they are positioned in relation to each other. Finally, a restoration model of this building has been built

Integrated studies for the enhancement of complex historic monuments

Il contributo propone una lettura integrata di dati storici riversati su rilievo a laser scanning di architetture complesse (casi della Cattedrale e della Torre Pisana nel Palazzo Reale di Palermo) al fine di costituire una banca-dati che possa gestire una grande massa di informazioni da utilizzare per finalità turistico-culturali o per progettare interventi di restauro