Digital reconstruction at the service of memory: Messina 1780

Luciano Giannone,Giorgio Verdiani

doi:10.4995/ege.2020.14800

Abstract

In recent years, the study of the evolution of the appearance and conformation of cities over the centuries has found new forms of representation through the use of digital modelling and related immersive techniques. These technologies, spread through the gaming industry, are now finding more and more space also in the world of archaeology and the rediscovery of cultural heritage to allow us to catapult ourselves into scenarios that belonged to the past. These investigation methods lend themselves remarkably well in the case of large urban places that no longer exist due to destructive events but of which there is a sufficient amount of documentation such as to be able to reconstruct its appearance with excellent detail and high reliability. This project aims to rebuild the city of Messina as it appeared in the eighteenth century before being razed to the ground by natural disasters.

Highlights

The development of modern technologies for visualization and immersive use of digital environments has opened the way to new and surprising areas of research, in the purely technological scope or merely linked to the entertainment sector, and in the teaching, learning (Chang 2011) and scientific fields
In recent years, the study of the evolution of the appearance and conformation of cities over the centuries has found new forms of representation through the use of digital modelling and related immersive techniques. These technologies, spread through the gaming industry, are finding more and more space in the world of archaeology and the rediscovery of cultural heritage to allow us to catapult ourselves into scenarios that belonged to the past
These investigation methods lend themselves remarkably well in the case of large urban places that no longer exist due to destructive events but of which there is a sufficient amount of documentation such as to be able to reconstruct its appearance with excellent detail and high reliability. This project aims to rebuild the city of Messina as it appeared in the eighteenth century before being razed to the ground by natural disasters

Summary

INTRODUCTION

The development of modern technologies for visualization and immersive use of digital environments has opened the way to new and surprising areas of research, in the purely technological scope or merely linked to the entertainment sector, and in the teaching, learning (Chang 2011) and scientific fields. DIGITAL RECONSTRUCTION AT THE SERVICE OF MEMORY: MESSINA 1780 is, able to perfectly match the rigour of scientific research with the curiosity of entertainment Respect for this balance is an intrinsic character of the subject that is going to be reconstructed; from the point of view of a project capable of involving a large environment, such as a city, a subject that may have undergone recent destruction of its built heritage, but able to have very reliable documentation, a condition that is optimal for any further virtual (or even real) reconstructions, while it can be supported and accompanied by descriptive, photographic or even detailed survey documents. Some traces from the past asset remained, while the past artistic, architectural and urban richness of the city stimulated the production of documentation, which things, in our time, allows a complete and detailed reconstructive process

HISTORICAL NOTES

ACQUISITION AND SOURCES

METHODOLOGY