Elvio Moretti

GIS intelligence for a cutting-edge management of 3D cities

Urbino, a city whose historic centre was declared to be part of the UNESCO World Heritage, serves as a case history for the application of innovative research methodologies based on GIS applications in urban contexts. Various phases of research have led to the evolution of a single GIS project that manages the territorial context as well as the geomorphological and historical reconstructions of the evolution of the city from the first Roman settlements to the present day, up to reaching a management of the current urban centres layout and of the archaeological peculiarities found in the area. In particular, the analysis and urban management phase is presented. All of the features are organised in the Geodatabase environment by taking a three-dimensional modelling of floorplans with their relative covering and showing in the correct geographical-spatial location also perspectives, in their 3D morphology. The focus of the work is the integrated management of all the peculiarities of the urban elements, from their composition, to their geometric characteristics, from the state of conservation to the interventions for dynamic monitoring based on complete and upgradeable cartography, useful for the enjoyment and enhancement of the urban areas but also in the context of the decision-making and planning.

GIS and 3D Models as Support to Documentation and Planning of the Baku Historical Centre (Republic of Azerbaijan)

The walled city of Baku, Icherisheher has been described as one of the best examples of a city that has retained its historical stratigraphy in over a thousand years, where the different influences and its evolution in time may be appreciated. In realising the Master Plan of the historical city, many problems were solved with different information technologies (GIS, DEM, DTM, etc.) for the survey and data mapping management during all the phases of the project. Initially the analysis was addressed to systematic reading of the documents collected during the iconographic study, verifying the process of deterioration that the historic city had suffered during various periods from the Khans to the Tsarist domain, and from the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Soviet period through to its independence. The entire central part of the historic city was analyzed, including not only on its special architectural and urban monuments, but even minor buildings, which are in part still intact, used as a basis for a digital...

The Fortification System of the City of Urbino: The Case Study of Valbona Gate from 3D Surveys to GIS Applications for Dynamic Maps

The city walls of the city of Urbino, originally Metaurense Urvinum, today represent the result of an evolution that has antique origins, from protohistoric settlements to the first Roman ruins, up to its current conformation, expression of the important Renaissance period. We present a study of documentation, survey and analysis of the various parts of the walls, analysed in their entirety and in individual elements, among these we focus on the main access gate to the historic centre, Valbona Gate. The integration of avant-garde technologies during all the phases, from the survey to the graphic rendering, up to advanced management with GIS instruments allows us to have a picture of the architectural reality both of the present and the past, fundamental for scheduled maintenance and for planning future conservation interventions. The geometric and morphological survey brought the process to completion with the problems relating to deterioration, the understanding of the situation of the pathologies and the descriptive dimension of the architectural elements in a complete bi- and tri-dimensional GIS system that allows us to take advantage of a complete series of processing and statistical assessment capabilities. The project is part of a wider program of research on the walled city of Urbino, wherein the analysis of the city walls integrates with the diachronic analysis of its expansion and the geomorphological context in which it is found as well as a 3D City Model and the analysis and management of the built environment, current and archaeological.

GIS Applications for a New Approach to the Analysis of Panel Paintings

A work of art, considered in its complexity and in its evolution over time, requires knowledge and thorough study in order to arrive at its correct interpretation, a prerequisite for any conservation and maintenance interventions. The evaluation of the preliminary information on the work of art and its analytical reading are closely interrelated to a careful and critical use of the technical and operational instruments defined in a comprehensive and focused methodological programme. Information technology and the integration of multidisciplinary knowledge lead to making even more powerful forms of support available for a phase of documentation, as a means of investigation and organisation of the information, followed by analysis and processing that implement the knowledge of the work of art. Instruments for the 3D surveys of the panels and software for processing and post-processing allow us to obtain digital models of the surveyed surfaces, which are implemented in the GIS environment. We take advantage of the advanced analytical and management capacities, normally applied to the territory, with a simple change of scale, allowing us to carry out detailed investigations on the painting, on the paint film and on the supporting panel. Quantitative evaluations of the metric/statistical type on the spatial distribution of the elements are flanked both by colourimetric analysis, vectorising the RGB components and extrapolating the useful information, and by graphic analysis of the iconographic composition and on the conservation status. We then process the three-dimensional data relative to the morphology of the panel, allowing the identification of any critical aspects or elements of deterioration, until reaching a geometrical comparison among subsequent acquisitions that allows us to identify any displacement due to modifications of the support. The application of the method also allows us to define a comparison between diverse sensing systems to verify their accuracy and effectiveness, in a perspective of programmed management of interventions that will optimise costs and benefits and predispose the elevation profiles to study the morphological evolution along particular lines of interest. The GIS application in a field which is so different from the usual context of usage provides innovative scenarios and various potentials of data analysis and processing.