Digital Survey for Built Heritage Preservation. An Adaptive Reuse Proposal of the Complex of Santa Maria Nascente

This paper focuses on the analysis of the historical and religious complex of Santa Maria Nascente, located on the top of Pragatto hill, a natural and valuable environment in the province of Bologna, Italy; In particular, in-depth analysis and intervention strategy have been performed specifically on the Chapel of Santissima Trinità, as a prominent part of this religious complex. Currently, the building is in a state of abandonment and decay, as often happens for the deconsecrated minor ecclesiastical heritage, consisting of small churches, chapels, and convents. The reuse of this heritage becomes increasingly urgent to avoid the triggering of structural and architectural damages due to extended disuse periods. Consequently, the first purpose of the proposed intervention is the search for an appropriate use, different from the religious one, which could give new attractiveness to the complex, yet maintaining its cultural and social aims while enhancing its natural environment. The digital survey carried out with unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) photogrammetry or terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) is today an indispensable tool for cultural heritage preservation projects, where a high level of accuracy is required for the analyses that follow the historical research. Indeed, UAV photogrammetry or terrestrial laser scanning can help in the study of the construction characteristics, materials degradation and cracking framework to define how to intervene. The present case study considers the benefits that an in-depth survey gives in terms of the accuracy of the intervention proposal, whose result is a project at different levels, from a wider territorial one to a detailed seismic improvement.