Survey Methodologies, Research and Technological Innovation for a Case of Medieval Archaeology : Torre Melissa in the province of Crotone

Abstract

 The Torre Melissa complex is one of the most prestigious historical artifacts overlooking the Calabrian coast of the Ionian Sea, a tower castle of the Aragonese era subjected to works of conservative restoration in the first years of the twenty-first century. On that occasion, the tower was surveyed with manual procedures and the aid of a total station. In 2014, a survey was performed with high-definition digital instruments (laser scanner, digital photography and a camera drone). 

The comparison between the two surveys, carried out with different methodologies, shows evident semantic inequalities that highlight the progress of today’s instrumentation for the definition of highly accurate 3D models, fundamental to the practices of protecting and enhancing a complex and stratified architectural heritage.