Articles by Simone Zambruno

This paper aims to highlight the importance of 3D printing to support Cultural Heritage and related activities. We will demonstrate the advantages that a conscious employment of techniques and methods, together with the right expertise, could offer to an exhibition. We will detail the steps we took to produce a 1:1 copy of a medieval sphinx for the exhibition Echoes of Egypt: Conjuring the Land of the Pharaohs which took place at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History (USA). This paper highlights the project’s workflow, from the digital 3D scan, data processing, 3D printing, to the artistic finishing to prepare the object for display.

Historical architecture often features very detailed elements that are frequently characterized by complex ornamentation, such as capitals, vaulted arches, portals, mouldings etc. Modeling such highly detailed surfaces with traditional software packages can be a very difficult and time-consuming task, which often requires considerable skills and does not always ensure a strict adherence to the original object. This article discusses the combined use of two software applications to integrate traditional three-dimensional reconstructions of historical architecture and 3D models generated by semi-automatic photo-modeling. The case study is represented by a virtual reconstruction of the main structural changes undergone by the church of San Giovanni Evangelista in Ravenna, built by the Empress Galla Placidia in the 5th century AD. The aim of the study was to document the modifications made to this church over the centuries by means of a three-dimensional reconstruction that was chiefly created with the combined use of two open source software programs. Blender was used to recreate the main structures such as walls, apses, roofs and windows, and Autodesk 123D Catch was chosen to generate 3D textured models of the most detailed parts: capitals, portals, decorated columns. The success of this technique demonstrates that the use of a hybrid workflow can simplify the generation of complex shapes, increase the level of detail, and speed up the whole modeling process.