Virtual anastylosis applied to the architectural decoration of mixtilinear buildings in Villa Adriana: the case study of the scattered friezes of the Teatro Marittimo

The peculiar figurative friezes of the buildings with mixtilinear entablature have always fascinated collectors of antiquities since the Renaissance, determining their scattering in private collections and museums throughout Europe. Thanks to the application of digital surveying and reverse modelling techniques, increasingly adopted during the last years for the documentation and enhancement of Cultural Heritage, it has been possible to outline a specific methodology for the restoration works that concern the virtual anastylosis of the architectural order and the correct repositioning of the friezes, also not physically present on site. The master model, which shows the conditions of the Teatro Marittimo before the last restoration works (2017), is the result of several survey campaigns, carried out over the course of the last years, in collaboration with the Direction of the Villa. This model has become the basis for the hypothetical order reconstruction and the repositioning of the friezes, by considering their geometrical, morphological, stylistic, constructive, and figurative features. The ongoing research is in constant update, and it aims at providing methodological directions for virtual anastylosis and scientific tools, also preparatory to a real restoration work, starting from such a unique and delicate site as Villa Adriana.