Imagining a New Italy to Create Italians. Le Vie d’Italia from 1917 to 1935

This article is situated in the framework of the editorial products through which Touring reinvented tourism and travel in the early part of the 1900s. It concentrates on the magazine Le Vie d’Italia, proposing a rereading starting from the covers, which, up through 1935, exhibited a product, or rather, an Italian product brand each month in place of the traditional beauty of the landscape. These covers/manifestos suggest a new visual of the landscape and build the new view for Italians, relying on the rhetorical mechanism—amply tested historically—of figures of the landscape operating as a topic

The Image as a Communication Tool for Virtual Museums. Narration and the Enjoyment of Cultural Heritage

The challenge of contemporary museums is to make content accessible to a wider audience; in this way information related to the good becomes more communicative and usable in order to enhance its uniqueness. Accessibility goes through an innovative communication of content: the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) that are increasingly part of people’s daily lives. Communication in most cases occurs visually, so ICTs are increasingly focusing on a rethinking of this expressive form; images become a better support for high-quality data transfer

Structure from motion systems for architectural heritage. A survey of the internal loggia courtyard of Palazzo dei Capitani, Ascoli Piceno, Italy

We present the results of a point-cloud-based survey deriving from the use of image-based techniques, in particular with multi-image monoscopic digital photogrammetry systems and software, the so-called “structure-from-motion” technique. The aim is to evaluate the advantages and limitations of such procedures in architectural surveying, particularly in conditions that are “at the limit”. A particular case study was chosen: the courtyard of Palazzo dei Capitani del Popolo in Ascoli Piceno, Italy, which can be considered the ideal example due to its notable vertical, rather than horizontal, layout. In this context, by comparing and evaluating the different results, we present experimentation regarding this single case study with the aim of identifying the best workflow to realise a complex, articulated set of representations—using 3D modelling and 2D processing—necessary to correctly document the particular characteristics of such an architectural object

Il Disegno per la ricostruzione di una storia. Il restauro virtuale del Monumento a Costanzo Ciano a Montenero di Livorno

In un eterogeneo contesto storico-culturale, talvolta animato da umano pregiudizio, il porre l’attenzione su uno degli elementi simbolici più rappresentativi del Ventennio, potrebbe configurarsi forse come un atteggiamento provocatorio, ma prescindendo da considerazioni che esulano dagli intenti degli scriventi, il Monumento a Costanzo Ciano, riteniamo rappresenti un tanto interessante quanto emblematico episodio artistico di quel preciso periodo culturale. L’interesse non si limita alla sola valenza delle “tessere”, ancor oggi diffuse sul territorio nazionale, di un mosaico rimasto incompiuto, ma anche nelle ingenti ed interessanti testimonianze documentali di progetto. Elementi la cui lettura interpretativa è stata condotta mediante le metodologie di studio, proprie della Disciplina del Disegno, e più in particolare inerenti il campo del ‘restauro virtuale’, da intendere in questo caso come unico possibile ed efficace strumento di recupero di compiutezza formale, oltre che di comunicazione e divulgazione.The study about the Monument devoted to Costanzo Ciano, one of the most symbolic elements of the fascist period, could be considered provocative in such an historical and cultural period signed by human prejudice, but going beyond the writers’ intentions, the aim of this research is to investigate this interesting and emblematic artistic episode of that cultural period. The interest is not only limited to the value of the lost ‘pieces’ belonged to the unfinished mosaic and still scattered on the national territory, but it’s also related to the great and interesting documentary evidences associated to the project. Methodologies framed in the Representation Discipline have been applied for document interpretation, with attention to the ‘virtual restoration’ as the only possible and effective methodology both to recover its formal completeness, as well as of communicate and divulgate it

Close range mini Uavs photogrammetry for architecture survey

The survey of historical façades contains several bottlenecks, mainly related to the geometrical structure, the decorative framework, the presence of natural or artificial obstacles, the environment limitations. Urban context presents additional restrictions, binding by ground acquisition activity and leading to building data loss. The integration of TLS and close-range photogrammetry allows to go over such stuff, not overcoming the shadows effect due to the ground point of view. In the last year the massive use of UAVs in survey activity has permitted to enlarge survey capabilities, reaching a deeper knowledge in the architecture analysis. In the meanwhile, several behaviour rules have been introduced in different countries, regulating the UAVs use in different field, strongly restricting their application in urban areas. Recently very small and light platforms have been presented, which can partially overcome these rules restrictions, opening to very interesting future scenarios. This article presents the application of one of these very small RPAS (less than 300 g), equipped with a low-cost camera, in a close range photogrammetric survey of an historical building façade in Bologna (Italy). The suggested analysis tries to point out the system accuracy and details acquisition capacity. The final aim of the paper is to validate the application of this new platform in an architectonic survey pipeline, widening the future application of close-range photogrammetry in the architecture acquisition process

2.5d/3d models for the enhancement of architectural-urban heritage. An virtual tour of design of the fascist headquarters in Littoria

Enhancement of cultural heritage is not simply a matter of preserving material objects but comes full circle only when the heritage can be enjoyed and used by the community. This is the rationale behind this presentation: an urban Virtual Tour to explore the 1937 design of the Fascist Headquarters in Littoria, now part of Latina, by the architect Oriolo Frezzotti. Although the application is deliberately “simple”, it was part of a much broader framework of goals. One such goal was to create “friendly and perceptively meaningful” interfaces by integrating different “3D models” and so enriching. In fact, by exploiting the activation of natural mechanisms of visual perception and the ensuing emotional emphasis associated with vision, the illusionistic simulation of the scene facilitates access to the data even for “amateur” users. A second goal was to “contextualise the information” on which the concept of cultural heritage is based. In the application, communication of the heritage is linked to its physical and linguistic context; the latter is then used as a basis from which to set out to explore and understand the historical evidence. A third goal was to foster the widespread dissemination and sharing of this heritage of knowledge. On the one hand we worked to make the application usable from the Web, on the other, we established a reliable, rapid operational procedure with high quality processed data and ensuing contents. The procedure was also repeatable on a large scale

Gnomonica

Descrizione del lemma Gnomonic

Il Disegno per la ricostruzione di una storia. Il restauro virtuale del Monumento a Costanzo Ciano a Montenero di Livorno

The study about the Monument devoted to Costanzo Ciano, one of the most symbolic elements of the fascist period, could be considered provocative in such an historical and cultural period signed by human prejudice, but going beyond the writers’ intentions, the aim of this research is to investigate this interesting and emblematic artistic episode of that cultural period. The interest is not only limited to the value of the lost ‘pieces’ belonged to the unfinished mosaic and still scattered on the national territory, but it’s also related to the great and interesting documentary evidences associated to the project. Methodologies framed in the Representation Discipline have been applied for document interpretation, with attention to the ‘virtual restoration’ as the only possible and effective methodology both to recover its formal completeness, as well as of communicate and divulgate it

High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein Increases the Risk of Carotid Plaque Instability in Male Dyslipidemic Patients

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate how the high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) values influence the risk of carotid plaque instability in association with other cardiovascular risk factors. Methods: One hundred and fifty-six carotid plaques from both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients requiring surgical carotid endarterectomy were retrospectively collected. According to the modified American Heart Association, atherosclerosis plaques have been histologically distinguished into unstable and stable. The following anamnestic and hematochemical data were also considered: age, gender, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, smoking habit, therapy, low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-C, kidney failure and hs-CRP. Results: The results of our study clearly show that high levels of hs-CRP significantly increase the carotid plaque instability in dyslipidemic patients. Specifically, a 67% increase of the risk of carotid plaque instability was observed in patients with high LDL-C. Therefore, the highest risk was observed in male dyslipidemic patients 2333 (95% CI 0.73–7.48) and in aged female patients 2713 (95% CI 0.14–53.27). Discussion: These data strongly suggest a biological relationship between the hs-CRP values and the alteration of lipidic metabolism mostly in male patients affected by carotid atherosclerosis. The measurement of hs-CRP might be useful as a potential screening tool in the prevention of atheroscletotic disease