The Gallery of the Castromediano’s Castle. Three-dimensional reconstruction and virtual representation

Abstract

The Ducal Castle Castromediano–Limburg was built around the sixteenth century in the historic centre of Cavallino, a town renowned for its excellence in the arts and culture, located in Salento south of Lecce (Italy).  The Castle, also known as Ducal Palace, was the home of the illustrious Duke Sigismondo Castromediano, a man of great culture, archaeologist, writer and indomitable patriot of the Italian Risorgimento. The Gallery, which is one of the most important part of the castle, is a magnificent reception hall richly decorated and adorned by numerous sculptures. Today, the magnificent Gallery shows the signs of aging and improper use. Therefore, a restoration of the spaces has already been planned. The Gallery of Castromediano’s Castle, classified as heritage of significant cultural and artistic importance, was the subject of a digital acquisition project, a three-dimensional reconstruction and virtual representation performed by CEIT (Euro-Mediterranean Centre for Technology Innovation for the Cultural and environmental Heritage and Biomedicine). The high-resolution 3D digital acquisition was performed using a time-of-flight 3D laser scanner and a campaign of photographic shooting of the frescoed surfaces. A 3D model, at two different levels of detail (LoD), was created, in full color, along with the animation of the model according to a predefined path that allows the user to enjoy, by various media, a virtual tour of the Gallery in a guided, detailed, complete and full-immersive way. The high-resolution 3D model will be a useful tool for the future conservation and restoration of the Gallery. It can be consulted and\or updated remotely for in-depth studies of historical and artistic nature.