Digital technologies for virtual recomposition : the case study of Serpotta stuccoes

The matter that lies beneath the smooth and shining surface of stuccoes of the Serpotta family, who used to work in Sicily from 1670 to 1730, has been thoroughly studied in previous papers, disclosing the deep, even if empirical, knowledge of materials science that guided the artists in creating their master- works. In this work the attention is focused on the solid perspective and on the scenographic sculpture by Giacomo Serpotta, who is acknowledged as the leading exponent of the School. The study deals with some particular works of the artist, the so-called "teatrini" (Toy Theater), made by him for the San Lorenzo Oratory in Palermo. On the basis of archive documents and previous analogical photogrammetric plotting, integrated with digital solutions and methodologies of computer- based technologies, the study investigates and interprets the geometric-formal genesis of the examined works of art, until the prototyping of the whole scenic apparatus.peer-reviewe

Digital Technologies for virtual recomposition. The case study of Serpotta stuccoes.

The matter that lies beneath the smooth and shining surface of stuccoes of the Serpotta family, who used to work in Sicily from 1670 to 1730, has been thoroughly studied in previous papers, disclosing the deep, even if empirical, knowledge of materials science that guided the artists in creating their masterworks. In this work the attention is focused on the solid perspective and on the scenographic sculpture by Giacomo Serpotta, who is acknowledged as the leading exponent of the School. The study deals with some particular works of the artist, the so-called “teatrini” (Toy Theater), made by him for the San Lorenzo Oratory in Palermo. On the basis of archive documents and previous analogical photogrammetric plotting, integrated with digital solutions and methodologies of computer-based technologies, the study investigates and interprets the geometric-formal genesis of the examined works of art, until the prototyping of the whole scenic apparatus

QCD at High Temperature : Results from Lattice Simulations with an Imaginary mu

We summarize our results on the phase diagram of QCD with emphasis on the high temperature regime. For $T \ge 1.5 T_c$ the results are compatible with a free field behavior, while for $T \simeq 1.1 T_c$ this is not the case, clearly exposing the strongly interacting nature of QCD in this regionComment: 7 pages, 2 figures; To appear in the proceedings of QCD@Work 2005,International Workshop on Quantum Chromodynamics, Conversano, Bari, Italy, 16-20 Jun 200

Giuseppe Damiani Almeyda: design drawings compared

Giuseppe Damiani Almeyda is among the most important designers, architects, engineers and designers at the end of '800. He has participated in numerous architectural competitions, both at Palermo in Sicily and again in Italy. He has conducted numerous studies on the identification of significant types of construction from coffee house to the shrines cemeteries, the decorative detail to the urban study on a large scale. Of course He is remembered in our city, especially as the designer of the Politeama, an imposing structure that dominates the central square of Palermo. Very old city, whose roots, evidenced by the presence dating back to the Punic, have never found a break until the present day, offering a repertoire of great architectural prestige and international reputation. Moreover, capital, enjoys a privilege that few other cities can boast: it has two of the most important theaters in the history of Architecture: the Politeama and the Teatro Massimo. And our dear Almeyda participated in both competitions, winning one and losing the second. But what were the real reasons why he did not win the second project? Perhaps the town is terrified of being left with a certified copy of the already made Politeama? Or, participation in the race by Giovan Battista Filippo Basile unquestionably compromised the expert advice? Or perhaps, again, the second project did not meet in style, beauty and greatness, the grandeur of the former? These and more are the questions we have approached the study of two extraordinary projects proposed architectural competitions with only one signature, but hides itself, strange stylistic mechanisms but also social, historical, political

Insediamenti rurali a corte nella Sicilia occidentale : la tenuta dello Zucco di Henri d’Orléans, duca d’Aumale

Lo studio indaga sulle trasformazioni del complesso rurale fortifi cato a corte chiusa della Tenuta dello Zucco, fl orida realtà agricola siciliana ottocentesca inserita, in Provincia di Palermo nel territorio di Carini, all’interno di un grande ex feudo. Il bene rurale, oggi in stato di parziale abbandono, conobbe, dalla metà dell’Ottocento, con l’intraprendenza imprenditoriale e la disponibilità fi nanziaria del proprietario Henri d’Orléans, duca d’Aumale, il suo massimo splendore architettonico e produttivo. Dopo una disamina morfo/tipologica sugli insediamenti rurali a corte della Sicilia occidentale, il volume ricostruisce, attraverso fonti bibliografi che, fotografi che, iconografi che e cartografi che e inedite documentazioni d’archivio le trasformazioni cronologiche, le modifi cazioni tipologiche e le stratifi cazioni storiche della residenza rurale, trasferendo, anche in forma di disegni, informazioni metriche desunte da inventari manoscritti. Il processo di conoscenza intrapreso documenta il degrado delle strutture edilizie e dei paramenti murari fornendo utili chiavi di lettura per futuri interventi di riqualifi cazione e di fruizione del sito

IMAGE-BASED MODELING TECHNIQUES FOR ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE 3D DIGITALIZATION: LIMITS AND POTENTIALITIES

3D reconstruction from images has undergone a revolution in the last few years. Computer vision techniques use photographs from data set collection to rapidly build detailed 3D models. The simultaneous applications of different algorithms (MVS), the different techniques of image matching, feature extracting and mesh optimization are inside an active field of research in computer vision. The results are promising: the obtained models are beginning to challenge the precision of laser-based reconstructions. Among all the possibilities we can mainly distinguish desktop and web-based packages. Those last ones offer the opportunity to exploit the power of cloud computing in order to carry out a semi-automatic data processing, thus allowing the user to fulfill other tasks on its computer; whereas desktop systems employ too much processing time and hard heavy approaches. Computer vision researchers have explored many applications to verify the visual accuracy of 3D model but the approaches to verify metric accuracy are few and no one is on Autodesk 123D Catch applied on Architectural Heritage Documentation. Our approach to this challenging problem is to compare the 3Dmodels by Autodesk 123D Catch and 3D models by terrestrial LIDAR considering different object size, from the detail (capitals, moldings, bases) to large scale buildings for practitioner purpose

Reconstructing urban scene 3D using VisualSfM

New computer vision techniques use photo dataset to rapidly build detailed 3D models. Computer- vision researchers have explored many approaches to city-scale 3D reconstruc on. Among these systems stands out VisualSfM developed by the University of Washington & Google Inc. It is a open source GUI applica on of a Structure from Mo on (SfM) so! ware that uses a feature extractor called Si! GPU and the Mul core Bundle Adjustment. In addi on it embeds the CMVS/ PMVS2 able to reconstruct dense 3D point cloud. Our goal is to demonstrate the metric accuracy of VisualSfM+CMVS/PMVS2 and that to get run it, you can use an unstructured photo dataset but the result improves if you use a structured photo dataset. The approach has been tested on several large datasets with structured images

La scenografia degli stucchi del Serpotta rivisitata. La materia e la forma

The material that lies beneath the smooth shining surface of the stuccoes of the Serpotta family who used to work in Sicily from 1670 to 1730, has been thoroughly studied in previous papers, disclosing the deep, albeit empirical, knowledge of materials science that guided the artists in creating their masterpieces. In this work, attention is focused on the solid perspective and on the scenographic sculpture by Giacomo Serpotta, who is acknowledged as the leading exponent of the School. The study deals with some particular works of the artist, the “small-scaled plastic theatres”, so-called “teatrini”, which he made for the San Lorenzo Oratory in Palermo. On the basis of archival documents and previous analogical photogrammetric plotting, integrated with digital solutions and computer-based technologies, the study investigates and interprets the geometric-formal genesis of the examined works of art. Knowledge of the material composition of the stuccoes, along with the ability to accurately reproduce their shapes, give interesting possibilities to provide a complete reading of the works of art damaged by deterioration or theft.La materia che si nasconde sotto le levigate e lucenti superfici degli stucchi della famiglia dei Serpotta, che operò in Sicilia tra il 1670 e il 1730, è stata ampiamente studiata in precedenti lavori, rivelando la profonda, se pur empirica, conoscenza della Scienza dei Materiali che guidava gli artisti nella realizzazione dei loro capolavori. In questo studio l’attenzione viene posta sulla prospettiva solida e sulla scultura scenografica dello scultore palermitano Giacomo Serpotta, riconosciuto come il principale esponente della Scuola. L’indagine si concentra su particolari opere dell’artista, i cosiddetti “teatrini plastici”, da lui eseguiti per l’Oratorio di San Lorenzo nel centro antico di Palermo. Sulla base di documenti di archivio e rilevamenti stereo fotogrammetrici analogici pregressi, integrati con tecniche di acquisizione dati di ultima generazione, lo studio presenta elaborazioni digitali che hanno permesso ricostruzioni virtuali a video di elementi scultorei non più esistenti. La conoscenza dei materiali che compongono le opere in stucco, insieme alla capacità di riprodurre con precisione le forme, offre interessanti possibilità di fornire una lettura completa delle opere d’arte danneggiate dal deterioramento o dal furto