Reliving history: the digital reconstruction of the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4995/var.2020.13706

Keywords:

digital replica, 3D modelling, digital survey, cultural heritage, documentation, 3D reconstruction

Abstract

Can we preserve cultural heritage and, consequently, the memory of the past? To answer this question, one should look at the digital revolution that the world has gone through in recent decades and analyse the complex and the dialectical relationship between cultural heritage and new technologies. Thanks to these, increasingly accurate reconstructions of archaeological sites and historical monuments are possible. The resulting digital replicas are fundamental to experience and understand cultural heritage in innovative ways: they have complex and dynamic relationships with the original objects. This research paper highlights the importance and the scientific validity of digital replicas aimed at understanding, enhancing and protecting cultural heritage. The study focuses on the virtual reconstruction of the constructive phases, from the mid-15th century to date, of one of the most emblematic Gothic-Renaissance buildings in the city of Milan (Italy): the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, famous worldwide for hosting Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper painting. This site proved to be an ideal case study because of its troubled and little-known history that led to numerous changes over the centuries. Thanks to a methodological approach based on the analysis of the documentary sources and three-dimensional (3D) modelling, it was possible to outline the chronological succession of the convent transformations; the way in which these overlapped the pre-existing structures was described starting from the Renaissance harmonious and organic interventions, to finally reach 18th-19th centuries inhomogeneous and incompatible additions. Finally, the research was completed by mapping the 3D models based on the sources used and their different levels of accuracy. The 3D models have thus become a valid tool for checking and verifying the reconstruction hypotheses.

Highlights:

  • The study focused on the virtual reconstruction of the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, one of the most emblematicGothic-Renaissance buildings in the city of Milan.

  • By combining data from documentary sources, architectural treatises, period photos and digital survey, the mainbuilding phases of the convent, from the 15th century to date, were digitally reconstructed.

  • The 3D models are enriched with information about the accuracy of the digital reconstruction, creating 3D databasesthat can be easily consulted and updated.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Damiano Aiello, University of Catania

Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Researcher

Cecilia Bolognesi, Politecnico di Milano

Department of Architecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering, Associate Professor

References

Addison, A. C., 2001. Virtual heritage: technology in the service of culture. In VAST '01 Proceedings of the 2001 conference on virtual reality, archaeology, and cultural heritage (pp. 343-354). New York (USA): Association for Computing Machinery. https://doi.org/10.1145/584993.585055

Affleck, J., Kalay, Y., & Kvan, T. (2008). New Heritage: New Media and Cultural Heritage. New York, New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203937884

Aiello, D., Fai, S., & Santagati, C. (2019). Virtual museums as a means for promotion and enhancement of cultural heritage. International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, XLII-2/W15, 33–40. https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-2-W15-33-2019

Arnold, D., & Geser, G. (2008). Research Agenda for the Applications of ICT to Cultural Heritage. Full Report. EPOCH. Budapest: Archaeolingua 2008. http://public-repository.epoch-net.org/publications/RES_AGENDA/research_agenda.pdf

AAVV. (1983). Santa Maria delle Grazie. Cinisello Balsamo: Amilcare Pizzi Arti Grafiche. Banca Popolare Di Milano.

Banfi, F.; Brumana, R., & Stanga, C. (2019). Extended reality and informative models for the architectural heritage: from scan-to-BIM process to virtual and augmented reality. Virtual Archaeology Review, 10(21), 14-30. https://doi.org/10.4995/var.2019.11923

Barozzi da Vignola, J. (1732). Regola delli cinque ordini d’Architettura. Roma: G. Zempel.

Beale, G. (2018). Volatile images: authenticity and representation and multi-vocality in digital archaeology. In P. Di Giuseppantonio Di Franco, F. Galeazzi, & V. Vassallo (Eds.), Authenticity and cultural heritage in the age of 3D digital reproductions (pp. 83-94). Cambridge (UK): McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research. https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.27029

Benjamin, W. (1968). Illuminations. New York: Schocken Books.

Boezia, E. (2018). Ektypa and 3D models of Ektypa: the reality(ies) of a digital object. In P. Di Giuseppantonio Di Franco, F. Galeazzi, & V. Vassallo (Eds.), Authenticity and cultural heritage in the age of 3D digital reproductions (pp. 97-110). Cambridge (UK): McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research. https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.27029

Bolognesi, C., & Aiello, D. (2019). From Digital Survey to a Virtual Tale: Virtual Reconstruction of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. In C. Bolognesi, C. Santagati (Eds.), Impact of Industry 4.0 on Architecture and Cultural Heritage (pp. 49-75). Hershey, Pennsylvania (USA): IGI GLOBAL. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-1234-0.ch001

Brogi, S (n.d.). Milano – Santa Maria delle Grazie, interno, Cenacolo. Retrived from http://www.lombardiabeniculturali.it/fotografie/schede/IMM-3a280-0000048/ Last accessed 10/05/2020.

Bruschi, A. (1983). L’ Architettura. In AAVV, Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milano (pp. 35-89). Milano: Banca Popolare di Milano.

Demetrescu, E. (2018). Virtual reconstruction as a scientific tool: The Extended Matrix and source-based modelling approach. In S. Münster, K. Friedrichs, F. Niebling, A. Seidel-Grzesińska (Eds.), Digital Research and Education in Architectural Heritage: 5th Conference, DECH 2017, and First Workshop, UHDL 2017, Dresden, Germany, March 30-31, 2017, Revised Selected Papers (pp. 102-116). Cham (CH): Springer. http://osiris.itabc.cnr.it/extendedmatrix/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Demetrescu-2018-Virtual-Reconstruction.pdf https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76992-9_7

Denker, A. (2017). Rebuilding Palmyra virtually: Recreation of its former glory in digital space. Virtual Archaeology Review, 8(17), 20-30. https://doi.org/10.4995/var.2017.5963

Dhanda, A., Reina Ortiz, M., Weigert, A., Paladini, A., Min, A., Gyi, M., Su, S., Fai, S., & Santana Quintero, M., 2019. Recreating cultural heritage environments for VR using photogrammetry. International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, XLII-2/W9, 305-310. https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-2-W9-305-2019

Forte, M., Pescarin, S., & Pujol, L. (2006). VR applications, new devices and museums: visitors’ feedback and learning. A preliminary report. in The e-volution of information technology in Cultural Heritage. Where hi-tech touches the past: risks and challenges for the 21st century. Proceedings of the 7th International Symposium on Virtual Reality, Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, Vast 2006 (pp. 64–69). Nicosia, Cyprus: Eurographics.

Forte, M. (2008). La villa di Livia, un percorso di ricerca di archeologia virtuale. Roma: Erma di Bretschneider. 10.13140/2.1.2107.4887

Forte, M., (2014). 3D Archaeology. New perspectives and challenges. The example of Çatalhöyük. Near Eastern Archaeology 2, 1–29. https://doi.org/10.13140/2.1.3285.0568

Garstki, K. (2018). Virtual authority and the expanding role of 3D digital artefacts. In P. Di Giuseppantonio Di Franco, F. Galeazzi, & V. Vassallo (Eds.), Authenticity and cultural heritage in the age of 3D digital reproductions (pp. 75-81). Cambridge (UK): McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research. https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.27029

Gattico, G. (2004). Descrizione succinta e vera delle cose spettanti alla chiesa e convento di Santa Maria delle Grazie e di Santa Maria della Rosa e suo luogo, et altre loro aderenze in Milano dell'Ordine de'predicatori con due tavole infine. Milano: Castello Sforzesco Ente Raccolta Vinciana.

Jeffrey, S. (2018). Digital heritage objects, authorship, ownership and engagement. In P. Di Giuseppantonio Di Franco, F. Galeazzi, & V. Vassallo (Eds.), Authenticity and cultural heritage in the age of 3D digital reproductions (pp. 49-56). Cambridge (UK): McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research. https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.27029

Jeffrey, S., Hale, A., Jones, C., Jones, S., & Maxwell, M. (2015). The ACCORD project: Archaeological Community Co-Production of Research Resources. In F. Giligny, F. Djindjian, L. Costa, P. Moscati, & S. Robert (Eds.), Proceedings of the 42nd Annual Conference on Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (pp. 289–295). Oxford: Archaeopress Archaeology. https://doi.org/10.5284/1042733

Jones, S. (2010). Negotiating authentic objects and authentic selves: beyond the deconstruction of authenticity. Journal of Material Culture, 15(2), 181–203. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203165744

Joy, J. (2002). Biography of a Medal: People and Things They Value. In J. Schofield, W. Gray Johnson, & C.M. Beck (Eds.), Material Culture: The Archaeology of Twentieth Century Conflict (pp. 132–142). London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203165744

Kargas, A., Loumos, G., & Varoutas, D. (2019). Using different ways of 3D reconstruction of historical cities for gaming purposes: the case study of Nafplio. Heritage, 2(3), 1799-1811. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage2030110

Latour, B., & Lowe, A. (2011). The Migration of the Aura or How to Explore the Original through Its Facsimiles. In T. Bartscherer & R. Coover (Eds.), Switching Codes. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Manžuch, Z. (2017). Ethical issues in digitization of cultural heritage. Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies, 4, 4.

Martelli, G. (1981). Il refettorio di Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milano e il restauro di Luca Beltrami nell'ultimo decennio dell'Ottocento. Roma: Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato.

Münster, S., & Koehler, T. (2016). 3D reconstruction of Cultural Heritage artifacts A literature based survey of recent projects and workflows. In S. Hoppe, & S. Breitling (Eds.), Virtual palaces, Part II. Lost palaces and their afterlife. Virtual reconstruction between Science and Media (pp. 87-102). Munich: PALATIUM e-Publication 3. https://doi.org/10.11588/arthistoricum.83.79

NARA Document (1994). UNESCO NARA Document on Authenticity. Last accessed 5 April 2020. http://whc.unesco.org/document/9379.

Paoli, S. (2017). Incisione - Pianta di Milano - Parrocchia di Santa Maria delle Grazie - Vigna di Leonardo. Retrieved May 5, 2020, from http://www.lombardiabeniculturali.it/fotografie/schede-complete/IMM-3a010-0001413/.

Paoli, S. (2017). Milano - Corso Magenta -Via Caradosso - Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Grazie – Sacrestia. Retrieved May 5, 2020, from http://www.lombardiabeniculturali.it/fotografie/schede/IMM-3a130-0006892/.

Piccialli, F., & Chianese, A. (2017). Cultural heritage and new technologies: trends and challenges. Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, 21, 187–189. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00779-016-0984-y

Ramorino, G.N., (1930). Milano, Chiostro della Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Grazie. Retrived May 10, 2020, from http://www.lombardiabeniculturali.it/stampe/schede/H0110-09293/.

Rechichi, F., Mandelli, A., Achille, C., & Fassi, F. (2016). Sharing high-resolution models and information on web: the web module of bim3dsg system. International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, XLI-B5, 703–710. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/isprsarchives-XLI-B5-703-2016

Trilling, L. (1973). Sincerity and Authenticity. Boston: Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvjhzrdp

UNESCO (1994). Nara Conference on Authenticity. K. E. Larsen (Ed.). Paris: UNESCO World Heritage Centre.

Verdiani, G. (2017). From the archaeological reality to the digital reconstruction: An architectural drawing challenge. DISEGNARECON, 10, 4.1-4.13.

Verdiani, G., Pucci, M., & Gira, C. (2016). A special eyesight to a lost past: Oculus Rift, Google Cardboard and SketchFab to support the digital reconstruction of the St. Donato cathedral in Arezzo, Italy. In C. Busch & J. Sieck (Eds.), Kultur und lnformatik: Augmented Reality. Berlin: Verlag Wemer Hülsbusch. https://www.academia.edu/25695591/

Viejo-Rose, D. (2015). Cultural heritage and memory: untangling the ties that bind. Culture & History Digital Journal, 4(2), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.3989/chdj.2015.018

Vos, P., & Rijk, M. (2019). Virtual reconstruction of the birthplace of Rembrandt Van Rijn: from historical research over 3D modeling towards virtual presentation. International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, XLII-2/W15, 397-404. https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-2-W15-397-2019

Witcomb, A. (2010). The Materiality of Virtual Technologies: A New Approach to Thinking about the Impact of Multimedia in Museums. In S. Kenderdine & F. Cameron (Eds.), Theorizing Digital Cultural Heritage: A Critical Discourse (pp. 35–48). Cambridge (MA): MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9780262033534.003.0003

Wong, L. & Santana Quintero, M., (2019). Tutankhamen’s two tombs: replica creation and the preservation of our Cultural Heritage in the digital age. ISPRS Annals of Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, XLII-2/W11, 1145–1150. https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-2-W11-1145-2019

Zanzottera, F. (2015a). Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Grazie. Retrieved May 10, 2020, from http://www.lombardiabeniculturali.it/architetture/schede/LMD80-00014/

Zanzottera, F. (2015b). Chiostrino del convento di Santa Maria delle Grazie. Retrieved May 10, 2020, from http://www.lombardiabeniculturali.it/architetture/schede/LMD80-00362/

Zuecca, U. (1930). Milano - Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Grazie - sacrestia, particolare della decorazione del soffitto. Retrieved May 10, 2020, from http://www.lombardiabeniculturali.it/fotografie/schede/IMM-3a010-0002879/

Downloads

Published

2020-07-08

How to Cite

Aiello, D., & Bolognesi, C. (2020). Reliving history: the digital reconstruction of the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. Virtual Archaeology Review, 11(23), 106–126. https://doi.org/10.4995/var.2020.13706

Issue

Section

Articles