Iacopo GIANNINI1 | Angela MANCUSO1 | Mauro MARIOTTINI2
(1Dipartimento di Architettura, Florence University | 2Cultural Association Academo “Roberta Pellegrini” Arezzo, Italy)

Abstract:
The hill known as “Pionta”, is located outside the line of the ancient walls of Arezzo and it was a walled, independent citadel, governed by bishops. The presence of this fortify hill was disliked by Cosimo I de Medici and considered “too near” to Florence. In 1561 he decided to order its destruction. In the following centuries many interventions have rearranged the terrain of the area and only starting from 1960 new archaeologic campaigns started bringing to light the ruins of the Romanesque church of St. Maria and St. Stefano and various minor remains. However a large part of this settlement is still unclear also because the organization and the aspect of the area is barely testified just by some later paintings. In 2014 new researches about this area have been started thanks to the Cultural Association “Academo, Roberta Pellegrini” supporting the “Dipartimento di Architettura” of the Florence University. The first task was the survey of the whole area. Using Drone Photogrammetry, 3D Laser Scanning and Topography, it has been provided the state of the ruins. From this we start to develop some hypothesis about the original aspect of St. Maria and St. Stefano Church, known as the “Duomo Vecchio”, using the position of the walls, the photos of the excavation campaigns and the comparison with other churches with similar characteristics for age and architecture. With the use of a 3D modelling software the hypothesis have been turned in a virtual 3D model, textured with the original mosaics and other supposed materials; this reconstruction will be useful to carry on studies and to spread and disseminate awareness of the hill Pionta and to compare past, current and future studies about the “Duomo Vecchio” of Arezzo.

Keywords: Arezzo; Pionta Citadel; Digital Survey; Digital Reconstruction; 3D Modeling