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ARCHITECTURAL AND NATURAL HERITAGE : VIRTUAL REALITY WITH 
PHOTOGRAMMETRY AND LASER SCANNING 
M. Caprioli *, M. Minchilli **, A. Scognamiglio* ,G. Strisciuglio* 
*Politecnico di Bari, Italy 
** Università di Sassari, Italy 
m.caprioli@poliba.it a.scognamiglio@poliba.it g.strisciuglio@katamail.com 
CIPA, WG VI 
KEY WORDS: Cultural Heritage, Architecture, Photogrammetry, Modelling, Laser scanning. 
ABSTRACT: 
The present study investigate the possibility to build a three-dimensional model of an Architectural Heritage with the tools of the 
digital Photogrammetiy and with metric survey of Laser Scanning, in order to develop and to promote vision metrology. 
They’ve been realized different survey campaigns with Nikon D100 semi-metric camera and with Laser Scanner Mensi in the sites of 
S. Catherine’s church in Conversano (Bari, Italy) and in the site of speleological complex of “Castellane Grotte” (Bari, Italy). 
It is plain that the achievable accuracy, with specific characteristics of every single technique, determines a considerable variety of 
attainable products that vary from navigable three-dimensional models for tourist and popular aims to 3D Informative System for 
Architectural Heritage conservation and restoration. 
After the acquisition of all the data both Laser that Photogrammetric we have reconstructed the model 3D of our objects of study with 
different softwares to individualize also in this case the merits and the defects of each of them. 
The results reached both with the software of the EOS Systems Photomodeler and Real Works (Mensi) are very interesting, and they 
can certainly be utilized for three-dimensional models, also with 3D Modelling and Virtual Reality techniques, in order to permit 
public knowledge and fruition of monuments. 
In the future, it will be possible to use the methods of metric survey as the Laser Scanning and the photogrammetric informations to 
get both summarily resulted descriptive of the volumetries of the Monuments and both for a more rigorous approach for the study 
and the conservation of the Cultural Heritage. 
1.INTRODUCTION 
In the circle of the searches conducted in the “Laboratory of 
Survey and Cartography” of the Polytechnic of Bari some 
campaigns of test they have been effected, through new 
methodologies of survey, of the same objects with different 
tools: 
1. Nikon D100 reflex digital camera with 6 Mpixel CCD 
2. Laser Scan Mensi. 
Theese photogrammetric and laser scanning surveys have been 
conducted: 
• in architectural field of the S. Catherine’s church in 
Conversano in the countryside of Bari, with a singular 
“quadrilobata” plan of unsure origin but with Byzantines, 
Greeks, Armenians or Syrians influences; 
• in the site of speleological complex of “Grotte di 
Castellana” (Bari, Apulia Region), discovered in 1938 from the 
illustrious Prof. Anelli, with the related “Museo Speleologico” 
and “Osservatorio Astronomico”, constitutes one of the sites of 
greatest monumental, landscaped, natural and tourist interest in 
the South of Italy for the exceptional beauty and oneness of the 
carsick phenomenon that appears to visitors: 
- natural caves of enormous dimensions, with formation of 
stalactites and stalagmites of interesting colours and forms, 
similar to works of avant-garde art; 
- underground caves (“La Grave”, “La Grotta Bianca”, “La 
Grotta dei Monumenti”, etc.) with formations of alabaster of 
such innocence and shine to recall the decoration of the 
Cathedrals. 
In the field of activities turned to the maintenance, monitoring 
and safeguard, during the time, of a such important monumental 
"site" , some modem technologies of metric-qualitative 
surveying are been experimented. 
2.PHOTOGRAMMETRIC SURVEY 
The photogrammetric session consists in the survey executed 
with Nikon D100 digital camera, that we have calibrated in our 
laboratory with EOS Systems Inc. Photomodeler software for 
calibration, obtaining both the principal distance and the 
position of the principal point, and also the constants Kl, K2, 
PI and P2 to value the radial symmetric distortion of the lens 
(28mm and 50mm). 
The results reached with the EOS Systems Photomodeler are the 
most interesting from the point of view of the survey and Vision 
Metrology. This software allows to work with both metric and 
not metric cameras. In this case, with the knowledge of the 
interior orientation parameters of the camera, the three- 
dimensional object model has been plotted starting from the