Hidden cultural landscapes: survey and digital enhancement of the catacombs of San Giovanni in Syracuse

Roman underground cemeteries are an heritage to be safeguarded and enhanced. They constitute the memory of customs, traditions and rituals of a civilization. In Syracuse there are different catacombs complex (San Giovanni, Vigna Cassia and Santa Lucia). They are the most ancient document of Christianity in Sicily. Sometimes, plano-altimetric layout reuses existing hydraulic structures (aqueducts, private channels, cisterns) and earlier burial areas of the city. The Aim of the research is the knowledge and the enhancement of the San Giovanni’s catacomb complex through digital technologies for 3D data acquisition and virtual models that characterize and document its shape, size, geometry and materials. Moreover, digital enhancement project foresees the creation of a multimedia platform for archaeological complex guided tours and online ones. That methodological approach required an interdisciplinary team composed by archaeologists, architects, engineers and experts in cultural communication. Within digitization project our research team had to tackle wide-ranging issues and challenges: the sheer size of the complex, the intricate layout of the rooms and galleries, the surface irregularities, the bad lighting conditions, the significant amount of data to process and manage. The scientific survey of the archaeological complex is the metric/spatial support that can be used to start innovative methods that allow you to create new scenarios for experimentation finalized to multidisciplinary knowledge and enhancement of not easily accessible sites.