The Challenge
The S.Maria della Vittoria Abbey in Scurcola Marsicana is a 13th-century Cistercian complex with significant archaeological and architectural value. The Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio needed a comprehensive digital record of the site — accurate enough to guide restoration work, detailed enough for archaeological study, and accessible enough for public engagement. The abbey's size, partially ruined state, and overgrown vegetation made traditional survey methods impractical, and large sections were inaccessible for safety reasons.
Data Acquisition
We combined three capture technologies to cover the full site. Drone photogrammetry produced 700 aerial images of the rooftops, courtyards, and surrounding terrain. Terrestrial photogrammetry added 400 ground-level photos at 61 megapixels, capturing wall surfaces, architectural details, and decorative elements at sub-millimeter resolution. FARO Orbis laser scanning provided 4 high-density scans of key interior spaces and structural connections, giving us precise geometric control that anchored the photogrammetric models.
The acquisition was coordinated across multiple sessions to work around weather windows and site access constraints, with a team of scanning specialists and heritage documentation experts on the ground.
Processing and Deliverables
All data was aligned and processed in Agisoft Metashape Pro, producing a unified point cloud of over 1TB of raw data. From this we delivered two core outputs: high-resolution orthophotos of every facade and structural surface — the metric base that restorers need for planning interventions — and a simplified 3D model of the abbey ruins, optimized for use as the geometric foundation of a full historical reconstruction.
Working with architectural historians and field experts, we then built an interactive 3D reconstruction of the abbey as it likely appeared in its original state. This reconstruction is published through our DualData web platform, where anyone can explore the abbey's rooms, corridors, cloisters, and church — each annotated with historical context — directly from a browser.
Results
The project produced the most complete digital dataset of the Abbey ever created: ±3mm certified accuracy across the entire complex, 95% site coverage including previously undocumented areas reached by drone, and detail resolution down to 2mm — sufficient to identify individual stone tooling marks. All outputs are georeferenced against regional cartography and delivered in standard formats for long-term archival.
Impact
The digital documentation now serves as the primary reference for conservation planning, enabling the Soprintendenza to monitor structural changes over time and plan restoration interventions with millimetric precision. The web-based 3D reconstruction has become an educational tool, making the abbey accessible to researchers, students, and the public without requiring a site visit — particularly valuable for an archaeological site with limited physical access.
