Marcus Vitruvius Pollio (80-70 BC, c. 15 BC) was a Roman author, architect, civil and military engineer during the 1st century BC. Around 25 BC he wrote the major masterpiece on architecture surviving from classical antiquity, the renowned treatise De Architectura libri decem¸ that is composed of ten books dealing with all aspects of construction. Some concepts explained in the work are still subject to interpretations, especially those referred to the famous Vitruvian Virtues (the triad of qualities: firmitas, utilitas, venustas) that a building must exhibit.
Published in Chapter:
3D Digital Models for Scientific Purpose: Between Archaeological Heritage and Reverse Modelling
Luca Cipriani (Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Italy), Filippo Fantini (Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Italy), and Silvia Bertacchi (Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Italy)
Copyright: © 2017
|Pages: 31
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-0675-1.ch010
Abstract
Reality-based digital models assist in the achievement of accurate analysis of historical buildings as well as archaeological sites and, more in general, of monuments featuring more or less complex forms. Their reliability is particularly useful when the state of conservation of masonries and vaults has been altered due to deterioration phenomena or as a consequence of incorrect interventions. In these cases, a highly detailed “digital copy” of the ancient constructions, if correctly observed via reverse modelling applications, can provide useful indications for an accurate and scientifically-based digital reconstruction. The Octagonal Hall of Small Baths at Hadrian's Villa, with its daring design of vaults and audacious building techniques, was chosen to test several interpretation techniques based on the customization of contemporary reverse modelling procedures integrated with standard protocols of design analysis and archaeological investigation.