TLS Survey and FE Modelling of the Vasari’s Cupola of the Basilica dell’Umiltà (Italy). An Interdisciplinary Approach for Preservation of CH

Abstract

This paper presents an interdisciplinary approach for identification and assessment of historic buildings that combines Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) survey and Finite Element (FE) numerical modeling. The structural analysis of an historic building requires the development of an interconnected series of operations aimed at obtaining a satisfactory knowledge of the building, where usually in-situ investigations are performed together with advanced computational analyses. In this process, the geometric and topographic survey plays a pivotal role and therefore the possibility to rapidly acquire large amounts of spatial data (and to geo-reference any kind of information) allows to provide effective geometric and monitoring data that can be subsequently employed for structural analyses. In this respect, the interchange between Geo-informatics and Engineering sciences can be considered a challenging issue in the field of conservation/preservation of cultural heritage (CH). On the one hand, in fact, the accuracy of measured data directly affects decision-making and analysis process. On the other hand, the merging of digital documentation technologies with innovative computational techniques supports the creation of an inter/trans-disciplinary cooperation model towards sustainable preservation of CH. These issues are herein addressed through the discussion of an emblematic case study: the Cupola of the Basilica dell’Umilta in Pistoia (Italy) designed and realized by Giorgio Vasari in the middle of the sixteenth century.